Robert Thornton Rutledge was born July 26, 1963, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, by his parents, Nathaniel Rutledge, Sr., and Emma Walker Rutledge.

He graduated from John T. Herbert Phillips High School and studied at UAB.

He was baptized at Trinity CME in North Birmingham as an infant.

He sang in the Collegeville Children’s Choir under the direction of the late Mrs. Emma McClaney Graham.

He loved cooking, especially grilling (he thought he was the best). He worked for Waffle House as a manager for several years. He worked at Green Acres with his cousin, Tommy Rutledge, for years.

He loved cooking for the family. He would cook meals and give them all away to others. He loved telling jokes, teasing, and bowling.

Preceded in death by his father, Nathaniel Rutledge, Sr.; grandparents, Willie & Annie Bell Rutledge, Walter L. Maddox, Sr., & Lucy Maddox.

He leaves to cherish his memory: daughter, Arielle Rutledge; mother, Emma Walker Rutledge;

brothers, Rev. Charles M. Rutledge, Sr. (Angela), Dr. Nathaniel Rutledge, Jr. (Joyce), and Walter Christopher Rutledge, Sr.; uncles, Dr. Walter Maddox, Jr. of Birmingham, AL. and Michael Lonzell Maddox (Julia) of Richmond, Texas; aunts, Doris Maddox of Birmingham, AL, Edna King ofWhitsett, North Carolina, and Linda Maddox Whatley (Zenas) of Alpharetta, Georgia.