Nicholas Ralph Rubino

Nicholas “Nick” Ralph Rubino, 90, of Buffalo Grove passed away Wednesday November 29th 2023 surrounded by his children and grandchildren. Visitation will be Sunday December 3 rd 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm at Ahlgrim Family Funeral Services, 415 S. Bueshing Rd. Lake Zurich, IL 60074. A funeral mass will be said Monday December 4 th at 9:30 am St. Thomas of Villanova, 1201 E. Anderson Dr. Palatine, IL 60074. Internment will follow at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Cemetery Palatine, IL.

Nick was born on December 22 nd 1932 in Chicago, IL to the late Vince and Maria (Ripalta) Rubino. He is survived by his children Marie, Rochelle (Jeff), Mike, Geri (Rick), Nick/Jake (Julie), and Patti (Mike) whom he treasured. His grandchildren Lindsay (Merrick), Elizabeth (Dina), Amy, Jennifer, Annie, Dylan, AJ, Zoe, Nick, Kristy, Jake, Jessie, and Joe all of whom he loved fiercely.

He is preceded in death by his loving wife and the true love of his life, Trudy, as well his siblings Vito, Vince, Ann, and Michael all of whom he shared many laughs and smiles with through the years, as well as his granddaughter Morgan whom he loved deeply.

Nick was one of the most hard-working men you could find. He put conscious effort into all facets of his life and everyone who encountered him was better for having done so. He had a high work ethic, always put time, effort, and most importantly love into his family, and he always put time into his friendships and community.

After getting his Masters in Accounting from DePaul University, he worked for many years as an accountant, or as he would say a bean-counter, until he retired from Discover in 1994. He decided retirement was not for him and he wanted to keep his mind busy. His retirement lasted 2 weeks before he started working with his son at Sensible Products until he passed. He also used his drive, his knowledge and caring heart to help people who needed it, file their taxes. All tax season you could find Nick up in his office crunching numbers and filing forms to help family members and those who needed someone with the knowhow. He was a smart man, and very gifted with numbers.

Nick and Trudy were married May 7 th 1955. They shared a love that everyone aspires to have. Those that knew them felt their love was the golden standard. It all started when they met at work. Nick purposely lost a bet to get a date with Trudy. As the story goes, their first date ended with mass at a Church known in his family as “Our Lady of the Airport”. They never could remember the actual name, but it was by Midway Airport. Their love was instant, and it grew over the years, with work, care, and endless affection. Everyone who knew them knew their love was everlasting and beautiful. They shared 67 years of blissful marriage raising 6 children, building their dream home, traveling the world, and so much more. They held hands and shared kisses every day. Their love never faded. They were each other’s first and only love, and they were all they ever needed.

The most important thing to Nick was his family. Nick had 6 children and 14 grandchildren that he was completely devoted to. He worked hard to be able to provide for them and made time for them. He was always so warm and loving and wanted to make sure you knew he cared about you. He also wanted to make sure when you got a new job that you filled out your W2 correctly! Nick was always the guy you wanted to tell your exciting news. He would ask a lot of well thought out follow up questions about it, but that’s how you know he was invested in you. Nick loved camping trips with his kids as they were growing up, and with his grandkids he had grandpas’ weekend up at the campsite. His family meant everything to him from when he was a boy until his final days, everyone who was loved by him knew it.

Nick was a man of strong faith. He was often a Eucharistic Minister at his home church of St. Edna as well as when traveling to other churches. When traveling Nick and Trudy made a point of visiting other churches. They enjoyed traveling to places such as the Vatican and the final resting place of the Virgin Mary to help enrich their understanding of faith and feel a deeper connection to God. In his youth, men of faith saw the light in him and even tried to get him to become a man of the cloth; he chose to shine his light and spread his influence in other ways, but he never lost his strong faith.

Nick was a dependable and fun guy to be around. He had many deep meaningful friendships that spanned decades - many friends became extended family. He was always there for them whenever they needed something. He was also the guy who could make friends with anyone. Nick and Trudy always made friends with people at their tables on cruises, as well as people they met when traveling overseas. They would book their first night and their last night on trips and see where all the other nights took them. Sometimes this was making a local friend and they rented they a spare room, or sometimes this was seeing a sign that there was a room available while touring a town. Everywhere they went they were the life of the party.

While Nick was raising six children, working, providing for his family, and volunteering for the church, he also wanted to give back to the community of Buffalo Grove. Nick and Trudy moved to Buffalo Grove in 1967. Together, they built their dream home and wanted to get involved and give back to the community. Nick started working with the Buffalo Grove Jaycees and was a founding member of Buffalo Grove Days, a multi day event which included a parade. One year he was invited to be the Grand Marshall. Nick was known as “the big man” as he used his accounting expertise to ensure the funds raised for the event were accounts for. To this day Buffalo Grove Days is still an annual event in Buffalo Grove.

Nick was a man of high integrity and had a very kind heart. By living his live with humor, character, and integrity, he taught everyone who was lucky enough to know him so many life lessons. From Nick you could learn how to be a hard worker in all facets of your life, the importance of a strong work ethic, how to love your spouse, how to live out your faith, how to be a good parent, how to love, protect and provide for your family, and how to be a caring friend. He has forever enriched our lives and his love and light will be missed.

In lieu of flowers please send memorial gifts to Mercy Home for Boys & Girls (https://www.mercyhome.org) in his name.