Penny's Family

Grandson Brandon

Grandson Christopher, served in Iraq.  See the article beneath the photo and read more on the obituary page, under the title of "R."

Road named after fallen soldier

By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com October 16, 2007

MITCH CASEY The Marietta Times Gary Rutherford, right, is hugged by Newport Elementary School Principal Greg Morus after members of 1st Lt. Chris Rutherford's family erected a street sign Monday during a ceremony to rename an access road to the school in honor of the fallen soldier. Rutherford, killed in Iraq in July, was a former student at the school.

NEWPORT— When Chris Rutherford was a student at Newport Elementary, he probably never could have imagined that someday the road alongside the school would bear his name.

That’s exactly what happened Monday, as new street signs went up and the road became 1Lt Rutherford Drive in honor of the 25-year-old Army first lieutenant who was killed July 2 by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

“It’s such an honor to have people keep thinking of him,” said his mother, Penny, after the ceremony Monday. “I don’t want him to ever be forgotten.”

Penny Rutherford, her husband, Gary, and their younger son, Brandon, helped put the new street sign on its post as students from Newport Elementary and members of the community watched and cheered.

Newport Elementary Principal Greg Morus said the idea for the signs struck him one day as he was pulling into the school’s parking lot.

“It was the only street in Newport that didn’t have a name,” he said. “When you lose someone in the community like this, you have to somehow find a way to remember. This was a good way. It’s our honor to be able to do this.”

Morus has been working on the project since July, along with Newport Township trustees Bill Bowersock, Rod King and Phil Smitely.

It’s the second landmark to be named for Rutherford; a fitness center, still under construction, at Frontier High School also shares his name.

Before the new signs went up, Newport teachers took some time to tell students about the man whose name would go on them.

“We talked in class about what it means to be an American patriot and about soldiers who fight for our freedom even though they don’t know us personally,” said American history teacher Sheila Giffin, who also taught Rutherford when he was in seventh and eighth grades. “I tried to make sure they understood that Christopher is a hero — not a Hollywood hero or a ball player hero but the real, honest-to-goodness thing.”

After the first sign went up Monday, the students stayed outside to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the national anthem, while adults blinked back a few tears.

“Chris was just a contagious person,” said Morus. “You’d be talking to him, and he would have you laughing and smiling and you wouldn’t want to leave. He was that kind of kid. People sometimes ask why we’re still talking about him and it’s because you can’t help but to think about him and talk about him.”

Morus shared with the students three qualities Rutherford had that he hopes they’ll apply to their own lives: The ability to always smile, a positive attitude and a willingness to share with others.

“Every time I pull into this school now I’ll see that sign,” he said. “And I’ll think of those three things.”