Rufo helped his parents on the farm until he was 19, at which point he entered the Spanish navy.  He was soon ready to go the US, and when his brother offered to get him a job, he flew to Idaho in 1960.  He worked at a sheep ranch for several years before switching to a ditch company, where he stayed until his retirement.

Rufino married Felisa Echevarria in 1965, and the couple had a daughter.  Felisa passed away a few years later, and Rufino remarried Margie Lou Pegrun in 1971.  Today, he is a member of the Homedale Basque Club, and loves to participate in cultural events.  He has been back to visit the Basque country, and considers himself both an American and a Basque.