Don Ruffin

Arizona artist Don Ruffin was born in the Grand Canyon State in 1928. He became a nationally recognized painter during the 1970s after completing a portrait of Senator Barry Goldwater. He also specialized in Southwestern scenes with a spiritual element. The painter, who enjoyed giving psychic readings at parties, told his neighbor Tony DePrima that he would soon be a pallbearer for a close friend, remembered Mark Ireland. Curiously, a week later, Don Ruffin passed away and Tony DePrima carried his casket during the funeral.