Buck

My friend Buck passed away Wednesday evening.  I am very sad that I cannot go to Arkansas for the funeral tonight or the memorial service tomorrow.  So, I will make my own memorial to Buck here.  

My first memories of Buck were from church, a man a bit older than I with an engaging smile and easy manner.  His love of the outdoors was readily apparent; I can easily call back the image of Buck in the back yard with his dogs, an ever present baseball cap on his head.  He was kind and loving - to his wife, his children and to our family, and many others besides.  But these qualities are not the ones that flood my mind when I think of Buck.

While growing up, my daughters tried to stop several immovable objects with their heads.  One of our sons tried to bury a tree (well, a very large, long splinter) deep into his leg.  It was these times, as Buck the physician stitched and mended them, that revealed the character qualities I remember most.  The children were still as he stitched them up; even an 18 month old lay still under his hands as he closed a long gash in her forehead.  They were so still that Buck later wondered aloud to his wife Pam as to why.  What Buck didn't realize was that his calm manner and peaceful countenance in the middle of chaos were the reason for their total trust in his care.  We trusted him and they trusted us.  That is what I remember most about Buck, the calm and peaceful countenance that you knew you could trust and follow. 

In all the years since, some 25 I think, he never violated this trust.  He lived well and he died well, eyes on Another whose calm, peaceful and trustworthy countenance called him home. 

To you my friend - though long absent from my presence, ever present in my memory. Until we meet again...

A.H. Rusher, Jr. Jonesboro- Dr. Albert Holly “Buck” Rusher, Jr., 62, was at home when he went peacefully to be with his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, on Wednesday, May 26, 2010.

Rusher, born and raised in Brinkley, came to NE Arkansas July 1979 after completing medical school at U.A.M.S in Little Rock, and a general surgery residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He was a general and vascular surgeon who served the community of Jonesboro for 25 years prior to committing to full time medical mission work in Mongolia. Other than his commitment to family, Rusher’s passions included teaching both matters of faith and medicine and spending time outdoors. He is the founding member of Jonesboro Surgical Associates, and served many years as a deacon and life-group leader at Central Baptist Church.