Virginia Rusch

Virginia Rusch was born December 11, 1934, in Wichita, Kansas. When she was about
five, Virginia and her parents moved to Colorado, but shortly thereafter her parents were
divorced, and her and her mother lived with relatives for a while. Virginia’s mother, whose
name was also Virginia, re-married and they moved across town to Fillmore Street where she
met Harvey who lived across the street. Harvey told his mother one day that he was going to
marry that girl the first time he saw her.
Sure enough, shortly after Virginia turned 17, her and Harvey married on New Years Eve
in 1950. Over the next seven years she became mother to Kenneth, Linda, Peggy, and Gary. She
was a house wife who took care of children and managed to keep them out of trouble…for the
most part. She was involved in the PTA and school events at the elementary school. When
Virginia would send her kids out to play, she would make it clear to them that when she whistled
for dinner time, they had better be home pronto! And we did! Our mother had a very loud
whistle that you could hear around the neighborhood.
Virginia lived very close to her best friend, June Rose Rusch. They did everything
together and would have coffee together every day, twice a day. Virginia worked for Russel
Stover Candies for a few years as well as managing, cleaning, and renting the apartments her and
Harvey owned. She managed to keep peace in the apartments between the renters. Virginia was
a great money manager for the whole family and made sure her and Harvey’s parents were taken
care of until their time of passing.
In the summer time, Virginia and June would load the kids up in the car and take them on
day trips that were a lot of fun. One of Virginia’s favorite things to do was waterskiing and she
was very good at it. She would prepare everything so her family could spend the weekend skiing
and playing and then, once home, would unpack and clean the sand out of everything.
Swimming, dancing, and travelling were things she also loved to do.
After her children were grown, she would often volunteer at a preschool with her best
friend June. Her and June also loved to go clothes shopping together. On weekends, her and
Harvey would meet friends and family and go polka dancing. They even followed their favorite
polka band around to different places they performed. Virginia and Harvey loved to travel and
take cruises to places like Russia, Germany, Honduras, and Hawaii. Many of their cruises were
with family members.
Virginia’s four children married. Ken and wife Linda had one child, Misty. Linda and
husband Gary had two children, Clint and Sarah. Peggy and ex-husband Terry had one child,
Joshua. Gary had three children, Jeremiah, Tiffany, and Jessica, with his first wife, and two
children, Joey and Cory, with his current wife Cindy. Virginia has fourteen great grandchildren.
Virginia and Harvey had a wonderful marriage that lasted 70 years. She was a good
mother, a devoted daughter, and a loving grandmother. She enriched all of our lives and left a
legacy of love that will always be with us. We will miss her.