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By the time he was school age they had moved to Jackson, Michigan where he encountered many good friends and neighbors. His best friend was a neighbor named Bill McConkie. Bill and Rusty had many adventures together like building forts or motorizing a go-cart (when Bill's father wasn't using the motor to mow the lawn). Holidays were usually spent with the families of his mother's four sisters. Those wonderful memories would lay the groundwork for his devotion to his own family in later years. One of the highlights of his childhood was attending YMCA camp at Torch Lake in Northern Michigan. He liked it so much he returned as a counselor for several summers. Among other activities he taught sailing, which down the road he was to repeat with his own sons on Lake Tahoe.
After graduating from Jackson High School, Rusty faced a pretty significant decision. When he was settling in at the University of Michigan, he received news that he was offered an appointment to Annapolis. U-of-M won his heart. He pledged Psi Upsilon where he would develop lifelong friends. Besides the usual antics of frat boys . and he was president twice so he often had to answer for those antics . they developed an attractive "date bait": They were able to flood the backyard of their frat house in winter. It then froze and became a skating rink with which to entertain their girlfriends.
Graduating in 1952 with a mechanical engineering degree, he attended Officer candidate training school in Newport Rhode Island and two years in the Navy followed. That was during the Korean War and his assignment was to a manufacturing plant near Philadelphia where they designed and made elevators to lift aircraft on a carrier to the deck as well as nets to catch aircraft as they landed. Following the Navy, Rusty returned home, but not for long. He opened a new office for Acme Industries, selling air conditioning systems, and moved to San Francisco. That's where he met his wife Diane one evening, when with his good friend Bill and his new bride, he visited Diane's roommates. They married Feb. 20, 1960 and moved to Moraga in 1964. Their marriage lasted just short of 62 years until Rusty passed.
For Rusty, family was everything - each member deeply loved. Diane and he had two boys, Harrold III and Bill, 2´ years apart. As a dad, he devoted a great deal of time to raising those boys. When they were learning math, he made flash cards; when they were in Cub Scouts he helped them make the fastest cars for the Pinewood Derby; when he was a plant manager for The Rucker Company he took them to the plant and let them ride forklifts. It's no wonder both boys earned mechanical engineering degrees. For summer vacations he found some newly built lakeside condos on the north shore of Lake Tahoe near Kings Beach. His family - grown to 10 now including two precious daughters-in-law (Margaret and Kayo) and six treasured grandchildren (Megan, Spencer, Ashton, Hana, Noah and Elliot) - continue to return there each summer for fun (and sailing) in the sun. That's been over 55 years now. He will be sorely missed this summer. He and Diane were stalwart season ticket holders of Stanford Cardinal football. He was also a faithful sports fan for all his grandchildren, attending countless events over the years.
If you wish to attend his Celebration of Life it will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 9 at Moraga Valley Presbyterian, 10 Valley Lane, Moraga. If you desire to remember Rusty with a donation in his memory we suggest: Samaritan's Purse/Ukraine relief, PO box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA