Don A. Rushing
COSHOCTON- Don Allen Rushing, 88, a resident of Windsorwood Place and formerly of US 36, died Tuesday May 14, 2013 at Kindred Transitional Care & Rehabilitation of Coshocton.
He was born May 20, 1924 in Junction City to the late Fred and Thelma (Heid) Rushing. He graduated from Junction City High School in 1942. He served in the US Army from March 1943 to January 1946 in the European Theater, including the “Battle of the Bulge”, and in Okinawa. Among his many campaign medals, he also received the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. He married Phyllis K. (Leach) Rushing on July 7, 1947, who preceded him in death on Oct. 7, 1994.
He entered Muskingum College in the summer of 1946, graduating in 1949 with a BA in Education. He went on to receive a Masters in Education from The Ohio State University in 1958, and an Educational Specialist degree from Ohio University in 1964. His teaching career began in Perry County where he taught Science & History at New Straitsville, and served as a basketball & baseball coach from 1949-1951. Following a move to Glenford, he taught and coached before becoming Superintendent from 1958-1960. He was named the 1955 Newark Agonis Coach of the Year, and the 1958 Ohio Class A Coach of the Year. When the Perry Co. school districts consolidated, he became the first ever principal of Sheridan High School in 1960-1961. He was then the Superintendent of Northern Local School District from 1961-1966.
In 1966 Don, Phyllis and their family moved to Coshocton Co. when he was named as the first Superintendent of the newly formed River View School District. He served in this capacity for 28 years before his retirement in 1994. During his time at River View, he also was the acting Superintendent for the Coshocton Co. Joint Vocational School. He was the featured speaker in Washington, D.C. for the 1976 National Conference on Rural Youth sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. That same year he was elected to the State of Ohio Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame. In 1986, he was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, the same year in which he was inducted into the River View High School Hall of Fame, given the Ohio FFA State “Honorary Farmer” Award, and upon the motion of then State Senator Bob Ney, given a resolution from the Ohio Senate congratulating him for his many accomplishments and saluting him as one of “Ohio’s Outstanding Citizens”. He was presented with the Perry Co. “Goodwill Ambassador Award” in 1988. The Warsaw Lions Club named him the “Community Person of the Year” for 1991. The State of Ohio Athletic Officials Hall of Fame inducted him to their ranks in 1993. The River View School Board announced by acclimation in 1996 that the football stadium at the High School would from that moment henceforth be named “Don Rushing Stadium”, in order that his name would never be erased. The Coshocton Co. Chamber of Commerce named him the 2001 “Coshoctonian”. Don also has scholarship awards established in his name both at River View and at Glenford Elementary.
Don’s past and present memberships and affiliations include: Masonic Bodies and Aladdin Shrine, the Coshocton Co. Chamber of Commerce, Charter Member of the Glenford Lions Club, Warsaw Lions Club, American Assoc. of School Administrators, Buckeye Assoc. of School Administrators, Past-President of the East District Athletic Board, member of the Legislative Committee of Coalition of Rural & Appalachian Schools, Committee Member for Ohio Mid-East Coalition of Schools, American Legion Post #65, announcer for River View High School football games, and frequent supporter of an incredible number of River View athletic, music, drama, and agricultural events. He was also a member of the Prairie Chapel United Methodist Church.
He is survived by his son, Don C. (Brenda) Rushing of Conesville, his daughter, Carol A. Conger of Mt. Vernon, three grandchildren; Chad, Ashley, and Lacey, two great-grandchildren; a sister, Jeanne Smith of Bristol, and two nieces.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a daughter, Connie, his step-father who raised him, Frank Johnson, and a half-brother, Butch Johnson.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday May 21, 2013 at the Fischer Funeral Home in Warsaw with Deacon Andy Duda officiating. Burial will follow at Coshocton Co. Memory Gardens, with graveside military rites performed by the Coshocton Co. Joint Veterans Council. Calling hours are from 5-8 p.m. Monday, and also one hour prior to service time at Tuesday at the funeral home. www.fischerfuneralhome.com
Memorial contributions may be made to the River View Schools Foundation, c/o the Coshocton Foundation, P.O. Box 55, Coshocton, OH 43812.
Category: Obituaries
