Celebrating a life well-lived

Throughout one's journey through life, you meet and share with many people -- your family, your teachers and classmates, your friends and neighbors, and those you meet through church and through various social activities.

Some you connect with more than others.

A handful leave a lasting impression.

One such connection was co-worker Rusty Murry.

I didn't get to work with Rusty long.

When I started here over a year ago, he was on medical leave.

Even so, he made it a point to meet "the new guy" that first week.

I had already heard a number of positive comments from his beats, the specific areas where reporters focus, such as the Vernon County Commission and various law enforcement officials, as well as various community organizations.

It was pretty clear early on that Rusty had done a good job in these areas, connecting the dots on the people he covered and what they did and how that related to the rest of us.

In reading his writing and getting to know him, it also became pretty clear that he loved causes, things where he saw a need to make things better.

It was also clear that he had a passion for the outdoors and a knack for writing about it in such a way that it became alive for those of us who don't consider ourselves hunters, fishermen, or avid wildlife observers.

After getting his doctors' clearance, when Rusty returned to his work at the Daily Mail, he brought the same enthusiasm that he brought to everything he did, jumping right back into the daily grind. It was if he never left.

Sadly, that time went all too fast as once again, his cancer came back and the disease put him back on the sidelines.

The news of Rusty's latest battle spread quickly in the community and his friends responded.

The various community fundraisers held to help him with his medical expenses spoke of just how much he touched others.

A small Christmas tree here at the Daily Mail was papered with money from his co-workers, those who he wrote about, and those he connected with, each donation a gift of giving back a measure of what he had given others.

Before he left the Daily Mail for what would be the last time as an active reporter and photographer, he told me in my office that his long battle with the disease, some 20 plus years, might finally get him this time.

But he was resolved to keep fighting.

"I live to work. I love what I do. This job keeps me going. I like to think I make a difference for the better in the community and with people."

At the January fundraiser for the Children's Center, a cause that he had written about and felt a passion for, Rusty was there, even though his strength was a ghost of his usual energy.

He was still on medical leave but he wanted to help, providing me with history, contacts, and names during the event.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Rusty did like he always did when he was on medical leave, he stopped by to check through his email and give us an update on how he was doing.

While he knew he might not have much time left in this last fight, he made it a point to visit with those in the office and he left, as he often did, looking ahead.

Rusty did indeed make an impact on his community and with those people he touched.

He will be remembered for his quick and easy laugh, the depth and quality of his work, his love of nature, and for the lives he impacted.

No better description could be said of any journalist and of any man.