BETHEL – Rudolf Aarne Honkala, 84, died Friday, May 16, at his home in Bethel, surrounded by family.

Born in Salisbury, N.H., on Jan. 23, 1924, he was the youngest of Walter and Anna (Tolvanen) Honkala’s three sons. He attended schools in Salisbury and Franklin before joining the Army Air Corps in 1941 as a radioman. Rudi was one of the first to receive benefits of the GI Bill, graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1946 with a B.A. in Art and later earning his M.A. in geography from the University of Montana.

After college, Rudi worked for the Mt. Washington Cog Railway, the Kearsarge Telephone Co., and was on staff at the Mt. Washington Observatory for four years during the ’40s. He returned as chief observer in 1955-56.

He met his bride-to-be, Barbara Hastings, on Mt. Washington and they were married in February 1950. Rudi and Barb then served for two years as husband-and-wife weather observers at remote Alaskan stations for the U.S. Weather Bureau. Their first son was born in Nome, Alaska, in 1951.

They returned to New Hampshire in 1953, where they owned and operated a sporting goods store. The call to adventure was too strong, and Rudi joined up to participate in the International Geophysical Year exploration of Antarctica in 1956-58. He moved his family to Missoula, Mont., upon his return, where he worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau. He went three more times on expeditions to the Antarctic, once as chief weather observer with the Australians at Wilkes Station (now Casey) 1959-61, and again as scientist-in-charge at Palmer Station, 1966-68.

In 1970, he moved the family to Washington, D.C., where he worked as legislative assistant for Montana Congressman Dick Shoup. He then served as senior physical scientist with the Office of Coal, Department of Energy, before his retirement in 1983.

Rudi has an Antarctic island named after him; and was holder of the Congressional Antarctic Medal and the Australian Antarctic Medal. He was a member of the Explorer’s Club, the Antarctican Society and has journals and photographs in the Polar Section of the National Archives.

He was a member and former president of the Finnish American Heritage Society of Maine.

After retirement, he and his wife lived in a remodeled fisherman’s cottage on Henry Creek of the Chesapeake Bay in Kilmarnock, Va. There, Rudi pursued his interest in solar energy by experimenting with solar powered boat motors. In 1989, Barb and Rudi moved back to Bethel, Maine.

Rudi was a true adventurer – energetic, fearless and always optimistic. He had a curiosity about the world around him from early childhood. And this curiosity carried him all around the world, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from Chile to the Philippines to Finland, and every state in the U.S. An avid outdoorsman, he instilled in his children a love of nature through camping trips, canoeing, rafting, fly fishing, and in winter, spending every weekend on the ski slopes.

Rudi was an infamous road warrior who loved to drive. He drove the entire United States, often sticking to the back roads where he could get the true feel for people and places. He used these trips to spring surprise drop-in visits on people he knew around the country. And he also tried to visit every used book store along the way. Rudi amassed an extensive collection of polar-related books, including rare and first editions. His collection was donated to the Mt. Washington Observatory Library.

Rudi loved to cook and prided himself on finding the best bargains on fresh produce and cuts of meat. He could turn an inexpensive chuck steak into something akin to filet mignon and his made-from-scratch brownies are legendary. Rudi had a wry sense of humor and was known for his quick retorts and corny jokes. A lover of language, he wrote extensively of his travels and life, full of adventure and rich relationships with people around the world.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara Hastings Honkala; his four children, William Honkala and his wife, Annette, of Carnation, Wash., Vikki Honkala of Dallas, Texas, Kristi Honkala of Falls Church, Va., and Doug Honkala, his wife Judy, and their two children, Austin and Tula, of Riverdale, Md.; and his older brother, Adolf Honkala and his wife, Eileen, of Richmond, Va.

Rudi was predeceased by his oldest brother, Fred Honkala, in 1997.