Steve J. Rudoni; age 73; of Mt. Pleasant and Stanwood; passed away Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at Spectrum Butterworth in Grand Rapids. A Funeral Mass for Steve will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2015 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home on Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. with the Vigil beginning at 7:30 p.m. Visitation continues at the church on Saturday one hour prior to Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Academy Foundation, Isabella County Youth and Farm Fair, Michigan Republican Party, or Family Life Radio. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. Steve was born October 30, 1941, in Niles, son of the late Steve L. and Mary A. (Rudoni) Rudoni. In 1959 Steve graduated from Buchanan High School and later received his bachelor’s in business from Michigan State University in 1965. He was married to Martha L. Alford and that union produced three children: Dana, Christie, and Steve After her death in 1975, Steve married Lynn A. VanderLugt on Oct. 15, 1976 at South Bend Christian Reformed Church in South Bend, IN. Together they had another daughter, Michelle. On September 30, 1976, Steve purchased the Mt. Pleasant KFC restaurant. Steve and Lynn would go on to purchase five additional KFC franchises: St. Johns, Houghton Lake, two in Traverse City, and finally, Cadillac. They were family owned and operated under the direction of Rudoni Management. Steve was very active in his community. He was a member of the Mt. Pleasant Lions Club where he served as past president, Chamber of Commerce, parishioner of Sacred Heart and former Parish Council member, and Knights of Columbus Council. He served on the Great Lakes KFC Association, KFC National Council Advertising Cooperative (NCAC), the Republican Party of Isabella and Mecosta Counties, State Republican Commission, and was a former Isabella County Commissioner, serving as chairperson for six years. He was a faithful supporter of many counties’ 4-H including purchasing Grand and Reserve Champion chickens in Isabella County for 33 years. Some of Steve’s favorite pastimes were fishing, dirt track racing and traveling to Italy to visit extended family. But most of all Steve loved being with his family. Steve is survived by his wife of 38 years, Lynn; four children, Dana (Jim Koss) Rudoni of Shepherd, Christie Rudoni of Farwell, Steve (Tina) Rudoni Jr. of Edmore and Michelle (Travis) Boggs of Lansing; and eight grandchildren, Alicia (Matt) Bollman, Arica Rudoni, Justin Powell, Steve III, Mikale and Sabrina Rudoni, and Annika and Jillian Boggs. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his first wife, Martha. To leave a condolence for the family or to sign the online guest book please visit www.charlesrlux.com

Published in Morning Sun on June 25, 2015.