Mathew Rusch

Mathew Earl Rusch was born in Stillwater, Minnesota on December 24, 1938 to Mathew and Esther Rusch. He was baptized into the Catholic Faith on Sunday, January 22 1939 at St. Patrick Church and attended the Blessed Virgin Mary School in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was confirmed on April 21, 1951. Matt was "always a good boy" his family said and was extremely helpful and thoughtful. Matt liked to dress sharply and would be the first with a compliment on a person's shoes, jewelry or new outfit. When Matt graduated high school, he worked at Tonka Toys. He had a serious girifriend but never did get married. He worked for his brother for a while prior to moving into a group home with Prairie Community Services. Matt enjoyed many friendships and activities such as fishing, shopping, going out to eat, attending vintage car shows and visiting about many things, especially cars! One of his favorite activities was going to the fair where, once a year, he would really pig out and eat a corn dog, home-made French fries, cheese curds, a Pepsi, a strawberry malt and a footlong hot dog. Another memorable activity of Matt's was riding the Go-Karts at Casey's Amusement Park. Matt never even bumped the sidelines in those go-karts and was smiling and laughing the whole time while driving, even at the age of 71yrs old! Matt kept busy all the time keeping in contact with old friends throughout life and enjoying visits with his parish nurse, long time case manager and senior volunteers in the home. Matt spent the last days of his life at home and passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at the age of 73. A funeral service was held Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria. Reverend Father Steve Binsfeld officiated. Interment followed in the Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.