Dr. Rufus Munn

Husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, counselor, professor, executive, pilot, farmer, golfer, fisherman, dancer are but a few of the ways to describe Dr. Rufus Henry Munn.  Born February 2, 1940, in Gainesville, FL, Mr. Munn was 75 years old when he passed on January 16, 2016 at his beloved Fairfield farm with family and friends at his bedside after a two-year battle with Parkinson’s and a stroke.

Dr. Munn is survived by his wife, Dr.  Mary Ann Ferguson, his two sons Henry Klein Munn (Melanie) of Seagrove, NC and Aaron Duane Munn (Hope) of Lugoff, SC and his two daughters Sonia Sherrell “Sam” Starkey of Dunnellon, FL and Selena Christine Munn of Bowling Green, KY.   He is also survived by a sister, Lessie Rimes (John) of Worthington Springs, FL and his brother Robert Eugene Munn of Hawthorne, FL.  There are 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his infant daughter, Selena C., Alachua, FL; his mother Atha Elvalee (Bass), Trenton, FL;   his father Henry Lee Munn, Hague, FL; and his brother, CPO Lewis Bronzell Munn, Hague, FL.

Rufus Munn was determined to continue his education throughout his life.  After graduation from Santa Fe High School, Alachua, he attended the University of Florida, and he later earned an MBA from Rollins College, Winter Park, in the first executive MBA class while working for United Telephone of Florida. He retired from Sprint as Director of its data centers after 35 years where he directed data centers and data center mergers for the former United Telephone of Florida in Ocala, Fort Myers, Winter Park and with later acquisitions by Sprint, Overland Park, Kansas.  Mr. Munn was a former president of Silver Springs Rotary Club and a member of the Ocala Elks Lodge.

After retirement Mr. Munn earned an MA in psychological counseling from the University of Alabama and a PhD in educational counseling from Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS in 2000.  Following his work in private counseling in Mississippi he retired a second time to his farm in Florida where he raised Angus cattle and quarter horses.  He was a member of Reddick United Methodist Church and a memorial service will be held there at 2 p.m. on Saturday January 30, 2016.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Hospice of Marion County.