NEWS

'Bub' recalled for many acts of kindness, not just last

Kaitlin Durbin
Reporter

MANSFIELD – After his son's accident, Roger Rush Sr. was turning people away from the hospital.

In the minutes it took for news to spread that Roger Rush Jr., had been struck and killed by a vehicle, the emergency room at OhioHealth MedCentral Mansfield Hospital was filled. No one could believe the news. No one wanted to.

But they just kept coming.

Roger Rush Jr. was struck and killed by a car Monday while helping a woman who had been struck by a another vehicle moments before.

"The hospital had to ask me to have people leave because there were so many," Rush Sr. said. "I think that's a testament to the impact he had on people."

Rush Jr., generally known as "Bub," was killed Monday morning while helping a woman who had been hit by a vehicle moments before on West Fourth Street.

It was the 44-year-old's final act of kindness. But it wasn't an isolated incident, his family said Tuesday.

Bub died the way he lived: helping others.

Good Samaritan dies protecting others after crash

Acts of kindness

If you knew Bub, you'd likely been helped by him, his family said.

He plowed driveways during the winter, helped those stranded along the roadway, gave money to strangers at the gas station, and even worked on some cars for free.

In 2003, he encountered a taxi driver with one flat and three bald tires. He called his father to tow the car back to his garage and replaced all four tires. He never asked for payment, his family said.

"If he had it, you had it," his oldest brother Sean Rush's wife Angie said.

"That's the truth," Sean agreed.

Bub's four siblings recounted story after story of people he had helped over the years. They knew Bub was the type of guy to give the shirt off his back. But his final act of kindness proved was he was also willing to give his life.

"What happened says it all," Sean said. "No matter what he was doing, he'd stop to help."

Bub was driving his three youngest daughters to school Monday morning when he saw Latrease Whack get hit from behind by a vehicle. He whipped his truck into Nevadas Tire and Auto Repair shop on West Fourth Street and asked longtime friend, Rodney Southern, to wait with his girls while he ran to check on the woman.

Passerby Jennifer Green, 38, also ran to help.

Bub insisted Green position herself on Whack's left, and he was stationed himself on her right, with his back to traffic. Green said he took off his coat and placed it over Whack so the reflectors would make her more visible.

He never hesitated or thought of the consequences to himself, Green said. He was concerned with two things: getting Whack warm and getting them all off the road.

In the next instant, another vehicle slid into all three, running over Rush. He died from the injuries.

"(My family) is so grateful," Green said. "He saved my life — both our lives — I know that."

A family man

Bub was also a devout family man.

He was a father of nine — five girls and four boys, ages 24 to 4 — and was one of five siblings.

Whether trips to the park to hug a tree, camping in the summer or the great hunt for snow sleds just weeks ago, his kids are hard-pressed to think of a story that doesn't end in laughter.

"That's what he did. He made people laugh," Bub's youngest sister Robin Huntington said.

Roger Rush Jr. (right) was a proud father when his oldest son Timothy took home a win on the dirt track. Racing was one of Rush Jr.’s many passions.

"Your face would hurt you'd be smiling so hard," his oldest son Timothy said.

Bub was especially known for his pranks.

He wore goofy outfits and hats, made up funny nicknames, and embarrassed everybody with his cheesy pickup lines that never seemed to fail with women.

There wasn't even bitterness in his younger brother Keith's tone when he said Bub used to hold him down and force-feed him worms as kids.

"Goofy," "Generous," "Kind," and "Amazing" were the words his family used to sum up their loved one, but alone, all of them fell short of who Bub really was. He was everything. He was anything people needed him to be.

"If you'd met him one time, you'd remember him," Sean said. "He left his mark wherever he was."

kdurbin@nncogannett.com

419-521-7205

Twitter: @njKaitlinDurbin

How you can help:

Roger Rush Jr.'s family has had two days to process his untimely death. Now, they just want to lay him to rest properly.

Roger didn't have life insurance, his family said. With unplanned medical bills on the way and a funeral on their doorstep, the family is seeking the community's help to bury their loved one Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They've set up a GoFundMe account where friends and loved ones can donate money for funeral service — http://tinyurl.com/mqknhdt. Donations can also be made directly to Werner-Gompf Funeral Services, 419-525-1200.