<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">I and the Maryland family are so sorry for all of our loss. Joe was a true legend in the Federation and was one of the kindest, most generous, most genuine people I’ve ever met. We are each forever changed for the better for having him as a friend and brother in the Federation. <br><br><div dir="ltr">Ronza Othman, President<div>National Federation of the Blind of Maryland</div><div>443-426-4110</div><div>Sent from my iPhone</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On May 3, 2022, at 8:17 AM, Linda Melendez via Chapter-Presidents <chapter-presidents@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style=""><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font face="tahoma, sans-serif" style="" size="4">Joe Ruffalo, who served us as president for 27 years, died quietly<br style="">early this morning following a multi-year battle with Metastatic<br style="">Bladder cancer related to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam<br style="">War. Joe had been in hospice care and passed away in the Bloomfield<br style="">house where he grew up. Family members and friends were there to<br style="">comfort him.<br style=""><br></font></div><div class="gmail_default" style=""><font face="tahoma, sans-serif" size="4">Joe had shared his journey with us and we send our condolences to<br style="">Joe's wife, Judy, and their sons Jim and Joey and their wives as well<br style="">as sister Jane Degenshein, also a leader in our National Federation<br style="">of the Blind community and her husband Larry as well as other<br style="">relatives and friends.<br style=""><br style="">Funeral arrangements are being finalized and I will share them when<br style="">complete. In the meantime, those who wish to honor Joe's memory may donate to the NFBNJ, the organization he said changed his life and<br style="">which he shared fso generously with us for so many years.</font><div style=""></div></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large;font-family:tahoma,sans-serif"><br></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div></div></div><div dir="auto"></div><font color="#888888"></font></div></div></div></div></div>
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