Gregory James Ruse passed away peacefully on April 11, 2021, with his devoted wife Debbie by his side.  He was 72 years old.  Greg is survived by his wife Debbie and their son James, son Matt, stepdaughters Whitney Reyes and Tiffany White, and their spouses.  Together Greg and Debbie have ten grandchildren:  Parker, Abigail, Bella, Preston, Lainey, Pierce, Adam, Lucy, Ella, and Brielle.

Greg was born on March 18, 1949 in Milwaukee, WI, before moving to Orlando, FL in 1957.  During his early years, Greg developed a passion for the heartland values of family, hard work, a spirit for adventure, and most of all a love for the Green Bay Packers.

Greg's father, Jim, was a U.S. Navy veteran and talented missile systems electrical engineer for Lockheed Martin Company.  Greg's father also had a deep love and understanding of rebuilding and racing sports cars.  Greg's mother, Shirley, was a dedicated and dutiful mother to Greg, son Rick, and daughter Karin, while Jim worked to keep our country safe.  From an early age, both Greg and Rick embraced their father's passion for motorsports and fast cars, technical understanding, and the ability to apply great focus to accomplish a task.

Greg attended Winter Park High School, class of 1967.  After high school, he started at Seminole Junior College at night and worked as a laborer for Hubbard Construction during the day.  This didn't last long though, and on March 1, 1971 Greg began his career with the Walt Disney Company.  As an entry-level field clerk with Buena Vista Construction Company, Greg quickly earned a reputation for his attention to detail and meticulous record keeping.  BVCC was working feverishly at the time to finish up projects for the grand opening of the Magic Kingdom.  This was work that Greg found incredibly rewarding, as well as piquing his interest in fascinatingly complex things.

Greg eventually transferred to the Opening Day Operations team and was a Captain on the original Admiral Fowler riverboat the day the Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971.  He was proud to be a part of that team but knew that he wanted more responsibility.  Shortly after the Magic Kingdom opened, Greg transferred into the finance area of the company while earning his bachelor's degree in Business from Rollins College in 1976.  After briefly leaving Disney in 1977, he returned to Walt Disney World in 1980 to lead the Planned Work department now known as Facility Asset Management.

The 1980's brought a time of great accomplishment for Greg, both personally and professionally.  At work he led efforts for Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Parade at EPCOT, The Norway Pavilion at EPCOT, Mickey's Birthdayland in the Magic Kingdom, as well as countless other areas and projects.  The early 90's brought more to Greg's plate, as he returned to BVCC as General Manager to lead their construction efforts at theme parks, water parks, and his personal favorite:  The Walt Disney World Speedway.

As the 2000's came, Greg certainly did not rest on his laurels and continued to strive to do more.  He was promoted in 2000 to Vice President of Construction, Disney's Horticulture, Textile Services, and Distribution Services.  This is an incredibly diverse group of organizations, each with their own set of challenges that Greg and his team rose to meet head-on.  Greg was a true leader and was very effective at mentoring his team in dreaming big dreams and delivering exceptional results on continuously challenging projects.  He had a unique talent for transforming diverse talents into a singular focus to achieve truly magical results.

As his 43-year career ended in 2014, retirement became a reality and spending time with his family and grandchildren became most important.  Greg and Debbie developed a love for RVing, and set their sights on Franklin, NC as a second home in retirement.  Together in their motorhome there were countless trips to fun and meaningful destinations.  Greg and Debbie love the twisting roads of the Smokey Mountains, and the entire family's memories there will be cherished for decades to come.

Greg's life could be defined by his passions.  He lived a full life.  His passion for cars, motorcycles and the Green Bay Packers are legendary amongst his family and friends.  HIs passion for Disney and accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks left an incredible legacy to his peers.  His passion for lifelong friendships and family leaves behind countless treasured memories by those that knew him.  He will be forever missed, but never forgotten.

*During Greg's career, one of his most rewarding assignments was to represent The Walt Disney Company as a partner to the Salvation Army of Central Florida.  This was something he and Debbie took very seriously and they both always spread the word of how great the organization is, and how wonderful the people in it are.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Salvation Army of Central Florida.

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