FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Master Sgt. Clinton Rudolph, who led his Army National Guard troops in Iraq from the front and gave bedside comfort to his Mercy Medical patients on the Eastern Shore, died Tuesday after complications from surgery following a stroke.

Rudolph, 59, was visiting Saraland Friday, Feb. 15, on his day off from work when he sat down on the curb saying his head hurt.

He passed out and was rushed to Mobile Infirmary where surgeons removed a large blood clot from his brain, said Brenda Govan, president of the Family Readiness Group at the National Guard Armory at Fort Riel in Fairhope, where Rudolph’s 1165th Military Police Co. is based.

He planned to retire this summer after completing 35 years of military service.

“The prognosis was good,” Govan said. “But during the night he had a couple of seizures and never regained consciousness.”

After another surgery, brain activity stopped and the University of Alabama at Birmingham was contacted because he was a registered organ donor, she said.

“He was an awesome man,” she said. “I just don’t have enough great words to say about him. He touched so many lives.”

The many family members, friends and soldiers contacted this week all spoke of the difficulty of putting into words what Rudolph meant to them and the influence his life had on others.

“Words can’t explain how wonderful a man my Daddy was,” said Courtney Grimes, 21, his daughter who lives in Mobile and is a senior at Springhill College. “As his children, our dad looked at us as though we were the only beings in the world.”

Some of his closest friends said the problem was not only finding the right words but having enough of them.

“I wish I could add 10,000 words,” said Sgt. 1st Class John F. Govan Jr., who served with Rudolph in Iraq. “He was the hardest working person I’ve ever seen. Whatever the mission was, he was always there first to get it done. And he led from the front. He was the best of the best. He was not only my supervisor, he was also a leader that treated everybody with respect. He was a fine Christian man of truly deep convictions about a lot of things. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore. He’s going to leave a big gap. He was one of those people who inspired you, and that you wanted to follow. I’ve run out of adjectives and adverbs.”

Rudolph was born in Pensacola, grew up in Fairhope and went to Vietnam after graduating from high school.

Back home, he worked for Thomas Hospital and retired after 25 years there, then worked 17 years at Mercy Medical.

He met his wife, Sherry Rudolph, who has worked at Alabama Legal Services in Mobile for 26 years, at Thomas Hospital. They would have been married 22 years on March 29.

“The last time I talked with him was 1:20 p.m. Friday,” she said. “He loved the military, and he loved helping people. He was a fixer-upper. He loved fooling around with cars. He was a great handyman, that’s what he was. He thought he was a carpenter, but he wasn’t. I’m lost for words. If he could help you, he would.”

Rudolph was deployed to Iraq with the 1165th in March 2003 and returned to a major homecoming parade on July 11, 2004.

“I do not know where to start with Master Sgt. Rudolph,” said Staff Sgt. James Martin, the noncommissioned officer in charge of operations at Fort Riel. “He was the best operations guy in the business. He cared and took care of not only his soldiers, but all other soldiers around him. His platoon members will tell you that when they came in off of a mission, and everyone else was asleep, Rudolph was always up waiting for them to get in. He was an example of what every noncommissioned officer should strive to become. He will be missed by us more than words can describe. I am sad to think that all these people in Fairhope had no idea that they had such a great man living here among them, and never got a chance to appreciate him like we did.”

Rudolph’s influence has been felt in many ways, his friends and family members say.

“He’s the reason that I’m in the National Guard,” said his brother-in-law, Staff Sgt. Kevin Carroll, who also served with him in Iraq. “It’s been 18 years now. He sent a recruiter around to see me. Clint has helped so many people, seen so many patients.”

Rudolph did his work quietly but was always the first to volunteer for community activities. One of those was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Battleship Park in Mobile.

“Clinton started coming around and was such an asset,” said Tom Schwarz, president of the Mobile chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America. “I loved working with him because he wouldn’t sit around and talk about what needed to get done like others will do. He would get right to it and get it done. He’d jump right in without question

The great thing is he would not leave until the job was done. And he was always willing to roll up his sleeves and get in there and get his hands dirty. He was what he was, you know the old saying, it applied so well to him. What you see is what you get. He was a big guy in my eyes. He didn’t ever say a bad thing about anyone. And he was like a father to some of the younger soldiers over there because of his experience. It was a proud day when they all came home.”

Rudolph was a founding member of the Fairhope chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of American, said current President Joe Birendelli.

“Clint has been a vital part of our chapter,” he said. “He was so very well liked and highly regarded.”

Rudolph is survived by his wife, Sherry Rudolph of Fairhope; sons Gill (Deanna) Rudolph of Fishers, Ind.; Edward Hardy of Los Angeles, Calif.; and Justin Rudolph of Fairhope; daughters Halima Hardy of Jonesboro, Ga.; Meredith Hardy of Mobile; Dochele Rudolph of Mobile; and Courtney Grimes of Mobile; 12 grandchildren; brothers Eddie Lee Johnson of Fairhope; and Cecil Rudolph of Gary, Ind.; sister Lula Merrell of Glendale Hights, Ill.; nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held from the chapel of Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home in Fairhope today at 11 a.m. Interment will be in Jubilee Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to these organizations in memory of Clinton Rudolph: Citizens for Local Troop Support, 51 Grand Ave, Fairhope, AL 36532; Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 864; P.O. Box 1081, Fairhope, AL 36533; and Fairhope Veterans Memorial, P.O. Box 653, Fairhope, AL 36533.

Vignettes of my father

Editor’s Note: Courtney Grimes, one of Master Sgt. Clint Rudolph’s daughters, wrote some memories about her father this week. We are thankful that Ms. Grimes, 21, a senior at Springhill College, was willing to share these stories of her dad during such a difficult time.

• When I was younger, I had an allergic reaction to some seafood I ate while in grade school. I figured I was allergic to all foods. He came over with some soup and a sandwich from Subway. I didn’t want the food for obvious reasons. He told me to “knock it off” and eat the food. He wouldn’t leave until I finished and realized it was not all foods that I was allergic to. His all time favorite phrase for any type of foolishness was “knock it off.”

• Around my 16th birthday I was telling him how excited I was about being able to date. He told me dating comes after graduation — graduation from college! So, to calm the anxieties, he delivered a single red rose to my high school with a note that said “the only man for you.”

• I was so proud of my father when he left for Iraq. My father was well into his 50s and was still very much active with his unit. He would always call with how disgusted he was with the living conditions and the conditions of Baghdad. But he never ended those phone calls without expressing how happy he was to be over there with his unit serving his country. He was there with his brother-in-law, Kevin Carroll, too. He always had some off-the-wall story about either him or Mr. Kevin. My daddy was just so honored to serve his country. No matter what conditions he was placed in or how much he knew he would miss home, when duty called this man was first in line.

• Freshman move-in day. So funny … This man would not let a male touch a single item of my belongings. My father was a character! He made me and my mom help him take my things up three flights of stairs to my new home. Then he made sure that I understood that he was capable of finding out any information about my actions while in school. And from previous experiences, I knew he was able to find out any information about any male counterpart that I so much as spoke of while around him.

• The stubbornness of Daddy. For every birthday, even though he was turning a year older, he made sure that his body performed as if he was just that much younger. When we come across some stairs, he made it his business to show me that he can run those stairs. He would tell me how members of his unit would joke on him around PT time and (not knowing how true his allegations were) how he would outperform the younger members.

• He had so much joy for his health-care career. He loved and I mean loved his patients. He cared for my great-grandmother before she went to be with God. I can still remember the fights between those two. Both as stubborn as a mule. But they fought out of love. I would randomly stop by his job for lunch or small-talk when he worked at Mercy Medical. He would introduce me to his newest patients. Oh, they would fuss and fuss and fuss; anyone who really knew my father knew how much the man loved to pick and fuss. When everything was said and done, they would laugh, hug, and tell each other how much they could not stand each other … love! He was definitely the clown of the job. I mean, just stay fighting with his co-workers, boss, patients, whoever. That was just him. To understand my daddy was to love my daddy.

• I remember the family trips to the Fairhope pier, Busch Gardens in Tampa, Disney World and, most recently, Jazzland. My father is indeed the epitome of a well-rounded individual. He really did not have much of an education, but was full of knowledge about life and what life has to offer. I will miss the new inventions he seemed to have conjured up when I visit, his shade-tree mechanics, his healing words, his stubborn and sometimes vulgar attitude. Oh my goodness, who can forget that smart-alec mouth. Words can not express or explain the impact this man had in my life as well as others.

My daddy will be greatly missed by many he leaves behind. As his child, I say thank you Daddy for being the example of what a son should grow up to be like and what a daughter should admire in her husband. He was a friend, an educator, a leader, and now my angel. It hurts to know that your flesh is no longer with us, but God has given me the comfort to know that you will live forever in my heart and in spirit. I love you Daddy.