June 3rd, 2025 by WCBC Radio

Robert Rudd Reinhard passed away on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, a day befitting the pride he took in his United States Naval Service. Known to his family and friends as “Rudd,” he was a deeply creative thinker, a man of many interests who quietly earned many awards and performed countless good deeds. Rudd possessed deep knowledge of music, geography, history, and many other topics. He was an artist at heart, known for being a storyteller from the time he was a little boy, put in charge of holding his fellow classmates’ attention when the teacher was absent, to his many years of crafting countless bedtime stories to the delight of his daughters and granddaughters. Rudd’s pen and ink drawings were published during his college days; inspired the design for the eponymous Uncle Ruddy’s applied color label (ACL) soda bottle; and decorated countless surfaces from packages sent overseas to one granddaughter in India, to labels for baked goods for his other granddaughter in Atlanta. His artistic lens was foundational to his keen business and marketing skills, and his genuine interest and investment in people reflected his inherently curious nature.

Rudd is survived by his wife, Judith Anne (Krubitzer) Reinhard, daughters Ada Jill Sudharsan and Jessica Judith Reinhard; granddaughters Ella Jane Reinhard, and Mirabai Veda Sudharsan. Rudd was the son of the late Robert Andrew and Katherine Lee (Rudd) Reinhard. He is also survived by George Douglass Reinhard and wife Bretta, as well as Joseph Lynn Reinhard and wife Mary Ann. His sister, Sarah Katharine Torrington died in 2014.

A graduate of Cumberland’s LaSalle High School in 1958, Rudd continued his education at King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1962. It was there in Wyoming Valley that he met his future bride Judith. Soon after his graduation, they were married at Luzerne’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Following marriage they shared his U.S. Navy life. While he fulfilled his military obligation, Judi served her patients as a registered nurse in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and Rhode Island.

After the service, Rudd joined the family Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company in Cumberland, where he served as Sales Manager and later as Vice President. During the next 20 years, the Reinhard Family Pepsi Franchise became the largest per capita Pepsi company in the state of Maryland and one of the largest in per capita sales in the USA. Rudd was active in the Pepsi-Cola Bottlers’ Association (PCBA). He served as President of the PCBA Mid-Atlantic Association, as well as a director in the National Association. Rudd also served as the President of the Maryland Bottlers’ Association, the fourth generation of his family to serve.

During a period of beverage industry consolidation, the family business was sold, and Rudd worked the next several years, first as Human Resources Manager for the UniBev Pepsi franchises, then as Employee Relations Manager with the Pepsi-Cola Company, which included work with the Pepsi-Cola Management Institute helping to design and implement training programs.

Following retirement from Pepsi and a brief career as a realtor, Rudd joined state service with the Maryland State Lottery Agency for Western Maryland and Mountain Maryland. With over 16 years of government service, he then turned the page to spend more time with Judith and their children and grandchildren.