Stevens-McGhee Funeral Home, Inc. | Quitman, GA

Obituary For Rudolph Christian, Sr.

Rudolph Christian, Sr., of Port Orange, Florida, passed away peacefully with his wife by his side on October 30, 2023, at AdventHealth - Daytona Beach, FL.


Rudolph, affectionately known to his family and friends as “Rudy” or “Boot,” was born on August 15, 1951, in Brooks County, Georgia in a small town called Dixie. He was the younger of two children. He is predeceased by his father Diamond Christian, mother Duria Christian, sister Marjorie Holden, and son Rudolph Christian, Jr.


Having come from very humble beginnings, Rudy undoubtedly overcame adversity and found much joy providing for his family. Rudy’s formative education was in the Brooks County public schools, graduating from Washington Street High School in Quitman, GA in 1969. He then attended Savannah State College (University), where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration graduating in December 1972. Further studies were completed at the University of Southern California and the Aspen Institute. While matriculating at Savannah State, Rudy joined Omega Psi Phi Fraternity where he met many of his closest life-long friends and fell in love with his wife, Joyce. They were married in 1971 and to this union three children were born.


A life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he was affiliated locally with Iota Kappa Kappa
Chapter, Deland, Florida. He was also a life member of the NAACP, supported many functions in the area, and was a BellSouth Pioneer.


Rudy’s Christian walk began as a young boy on a sharecropper’s farm in Barwick, Georgia. As his job relocated him to various cities, he always remembered his meager beginnings and Christian beliefs. He affiliated with many churches but had a special connection to First Baptist Church of Mandarin, Florida. When he retired and moved to Port Orange, Florida, he and Joyce joined First Baptist Church of Daytona and Providence Church. He attended faithfully until the COVID virus spread throughout the United States. He then reconnected to Pastor Williams and Hopewell Baptist Church where he worshipped faithfully online.


An avid worker, Rudy ascended the corporate ladder being the FIRST African American to receive managerial positions on many levels in Southern Bell and BellSouth. Having been recruited by Southern Bell, he began his career in January 1973 as a team supervisor and ended his career as Senior Network Vice President-Atlantic Operations, an organization consisting of 7200 total employees. Having worked throughout the Southeast, Rudy received numerous awards and retired from Bellsouth after 30 years of service. Soon after retirement in 2004, he started SYDUR Inc., his own mentoring and coaching business. In 2005, he became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Trillion Communications Corporation, a minority business enterprise from which he retired. He spent much of his life in mentorship of younger men, men in business, and providing financially to those in need and many charities. He was a generous man. Even in death he was an organ donor.

Anyone who knew Rudy knows that he loved to entertain people in his home. He had a knack for cooking. Whether it was Louisiana-style meals like gumbo and “the pot” or barbecue, everyone knew that he had “put his foot in” whatever he had cooked. He was famous for his barbecue sauce that he enjoyed making. He created his own label and shipped his sauce all over the country. He also loved cars, spending time with family, fishing, and the serenity of being near water, especially the beach.


Rudy is survived by his loving wife Joyce; his son Reginald Gerrod Christian; his daughter Adrienne Corinne Christian; his uncles Jimmy (Sally) Christian, Walter Truman Christian and Everett Randolph; aunts Hannah Rean King, Mabel (Ervin) Robinson, Jacquelyn (Robert) Sneed and, Shirley Hightower; nieces Alicia Nicole (Derek) Allen and Sonya (Franklin) Chatman, Sr.; sisters-in-law Jacqueline Harper and Edna Ruth (John) Everett; goddaughters Kirsten (Sharod) McKinney, Kristal Keels, and Kourteney Keels; his best friends James Keels and Robert Brown as well as many other cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A Visitation will be held at Lohman Funeral Home Port Orange on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 from 4PM to 8 PM. A Funeral Service will be held Wednesday, November 08th, 2023 at 11 AM at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, 540 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Daytona Beach, 386-255-8843.

Interment services in Georgia will be held on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 2PM at Old Beulah Hill Baptist Church. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to The America Heart Association and The American Diabetes Association.

Continue to keep the Christian family in your thoughts and prayers.

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- Stevens-McGhee Funeral Home, Inc. | Quitman, GA