Rutherford was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He received his undergraduate degree (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1952 and his medical school education (Alpha Omega Alpha) in 1956, both from Johns Hopkins University. He received his surgical internship training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, then a general surgery residency at the University of Colorado in 1963. During his surgical residency, he spent one year in Malmo, Sweden for a clinical fellowship year as a Fulbright Scholar at Lund University.
