Robert Lee Ruble was born on March 16, 1933, in Saint Louis, Missouri, the son of Robert E. Lee Ruble and Dolores Fields Ruble. He later lived and worked in several parts of the United States, including Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and Texas. Ruble married Patricia Evelyn Scott, from whom he was divorced in 1973, and married Sheila Margaret Cooper on October 12, 1974. He had two daughters, Rebecca and Lisa.
Ruble pursued formal education in criminal justice while developing his law-enforcement career. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Kennesaw College in 1983 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brenau College in the same year. Brenau records identify him as an Evening College alumnus of the class of 1983.
Ruble enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1950 and served until 1961. After leaving the Marine Corps, he worked as a patrolman with the Tampa Police Department in Florida from 1961 to 1965. He subsequently served in investigative work involving frauds in Virginia and Atlanta, retiring from that phase of his career in 1977 before becoming a special agent. From 1977 to 1980 he worked as a special agent investigating fraud. In 1980 he became chief of police of Kennesaw, Georgia, a position he held for the remainder of his active public-service career. During the early 1980s he also served as chairman of Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital and the National Kidney Foundation.
He was Episcopalian.
He was identified with the Democratic Party.
Ruble belonged to the National Association of Chiefs of Police and served on its executive board from 1980, becoming the organization's state president for Georgia from 1980 to 1983. He was also a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and belonged to the Shriners.
