Rudolph V. Biordi

Rudolph Valentino Biordi

Commander, US Navy - retired

Rudolph Valentino Biordi, WWII veteran, age 99, passed away August 19, 2022, at his home in Fulton, Maryland.

Rudy, son of Italian immigrants Frank and Irma Biordi, was born on April 24, 1923, in Ellwood City, PA, a small steel town in Western PA. Most of his teenage years were spent working in the family store and movie theater with his brothers and sisters.

In 1941, he entered the US Naval Academy. Enrolled in an accelerated program, designed to speed officers into service during WWII, he graduated in 1944, and married, Leona (Lee) Andrus. He was then transported to destroyer duty in the South Pacific where he served as a division officer and gunner during WWII. Rudy and Lee had two daughters, Toni and Lisa.

Rudy spent 23 years as an officer in the Navy and was proud of his service to his country. Many of his most meaningful memories are from that time in his life: his first trip across the equator, transporting troops after the war and sailing through (and taking a swim in) the Panama Canal.  Rudy was an animated storyteller and enjoyed recounting these and other tales to family and friends.

Rudy retired from the Navy in 1964 and began work at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as a guided missile project engineer in the Surface Missions Systems Department. He participated in the development of sophisticated naval weapons systems, parts of which are still in use today. He worked at APL for 29 years and retired in 1993.

In 1995, Rudy married Susan (Gay) Thomas and began a new life with her and her two children, John and Beth. He enjoyed working on his property, operating amateur radios, espaliering fruit trees, and raising show chickens. You could often find Rudy outside, on his tractor, pruning trees, using his log splitter, or zipping around on his UTV. He was a member of several clubs including Toastmasters, APL Investment, Tractor and Chicken clubs. He loved watching his home teams, the Orioles and the Redskins, on TV.

Rudy is survived by his wife Gay and her children Beth and John Thomas and by his daughters, Toni Biordi, her husband Charlie DiGangi, and Lisa Biordi and her husband Bob Miller.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to St. Francis of Assisi or a charity of your choice.

A Visitation will be held at St. Francis of Assisi, 8300 Old Columbia Rd, Fulton, MD 20759, on Friday, September 9, 2022 from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM where a Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 AM. At the conclusion of the Mass everyone is welcome to either attend the interment with the family at St. Mark's Episcopal Church Cemetery at the corner of 216 and Hall Shop Road, Highland, or to help themselves at the reception in the church hall until everyone returns.