David Paul Ruley was born in New York City, New York, on January 30, 1944, to the late David Taylor Ruley and Ann Stratmann Ruley. He attended Fordham Preparatory School in New York City and graduated from Georgetown University in 1965, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

David married Rylee Ann Routh on May 21, 1977. She predeceased him on November 17, 2011. He was also predeceased by his daughter, Stephanie, who died of a brain aneurysm in her 30th year. He is survived by his son, John David Ruley, and his sister, Monica Hughes.

David began his career at the Bank of New York in 1965 and returned after serving as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1968 in North Charleston and Guam. He started in the Investment Record Department as an analyst and Associate Director of Research. He spent some years as a portfolio manager and then assumed the bank’s responsibility for clients in a department overseeing the pension plans of states, corporations, and unions. He retired in 1999 as a Senior Vice President.

In 2000, he moved with his family to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Dave was a kind and devoted father to his two children and a beloved husband to Rylee. He was stoic through suffering and thoughtful to all who were lucky enough to meet him. Throughout his long life, Dave was known for his intellect and sense of humor. He traveled the world with Rylee, to far-off locations across Asia and India, but most cherished his time in London and Scotland, his family’s ancestral home. An avid reader and storyteller, he still found time to enjoy the garden with his pipe.

The final time Dave smiled was while remembering a story about Rylee.