COVID-19 claims downtown developer, civic leader
Mark Ruffin, a pioneering downtown developer and supporter of Catholic Charities, Cristo
Rey OK C Catholic High School, the Blessed Stanley
Rother Shrine and other causes, has died as a result of COVID-19.
Ruffin, who was 58, is survived by wife Manda and four children, ages 10 to 21. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports 424,508 have caught the virus and it has killed 4,428 Oklahomans since the pandemic hit the state about a year ago.
Ru ff in partnered up with friend Nick Preftakes in the mid -1990 sin pioneering renovations of older downtown buildings into housing with the Garage Lofts at NW 13 and Robinson. He also re developed a former grain elevator south of Brick town that is now home to offices and a rock-climbing gym. Suburban projects include the sprawling commercial and office Market Center at NE 122 and Kelley.
Ru ff in maybe best remembered for his support of local causes including several community efforts of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and shaping projects ranging from the home of Catholic Charities to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.
“Mark's contribution to the community and the Catholic Church in Oklahoma was immense and will be long-lasting, especially his efforts to secure the land on which the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine is being built ,” said Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley. “He was active in his parish, cared deeply for his family and was a generous and kind man. He is going to be missed.”
Ruffin's parents owned real estate investments throughout the city' s Midtown and Up town districts and he got his start in the business at an early age. He was in his early 30s when he teamed up with Preftakes to turn a former Buick dealership dating from the 1930s into loft housing.
Jonathan Russell, a fellow developer and long time friend, said the life-long Oklahoma City resident and Bishop McGuiness graduate loved his community.
“Mark approached real estate the same way he approached life, with passion and integrity and absolute joy ,” Russell said. “His impact on the real estate community in Oklahoma City is huge, but it' s dwarfed by the impact he had as a man in this town.
Those who worked with Ruffin say his expertise in real estate was key to doing deals with OSUOKC to establish Cristo Rey School on the university' s city campus and securing property for Catholic Charities just west of downtown and the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in southeast Oklahoma City.
The Rev. Richard St ans berry, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church, said Ruffin served on an array of committees and civic projects.
“Mark has done so much to help our community, all in quiet and unassuming ways,” Stansberry said. “There was no project too tough for him. ... He always served with a smile and a willing heart.”
Stansberry said on the day Ruffin died, several of his daughter's classmates asked if the church could have an impromptu prayer service for Ruffin and his family.
“On very short notice over 100 Bishop McGuinness students, parents and friends came top ray for him and his family and over 800 watched online ,” Stansberry said. “They shared tears, hugs and memories. It was a beautiful initiative that the young people did on their own — Mark would have been pleased that they turned to their faith.”
Patrick Raglow, director of Catholic Charities, and Judy Love, a frequent fundraiser, said Ruffin was a reliable source of expertise and financial support.
“Whenever I asked for a donation for any cause he always helped me out,” Love said. “He was generous with his time and his resources.”
Ruffin's brother Rick said he was still working on projects and various causes in the city when he fell ill.
“He wasn' t done ,” Rick said .“We talked oftentimes about future endeavors. And now that's something we are unable to do. He was a very good friend to a lot of people and he was a wonderful brother.”