Milt provided tonsorial services for 55 years.
He married Patricia A. Kane October 3, 1964.
He was an active member of New Hope Church and played the bass and sang in the praise and worship band.
Milt loved to fish and hunt.
He still played and coached softball, and coed softball, travelling all over with his ball team, the "Antiques," playing in an over 70 league.
Preceded in death by brother Elmer Rush (LHS Class of 1938) and sisters Verna Matzeder (LHS Class of 1942) and Deloris Martin.
Survived by his wife Patricia and brother Terry Rush (LHS Class of 1963) and sister Emily Steuernagel (LHS Class of 1956).
Milt has five children Robin Orf, Tracy Baragary, Milton H Rush Jr. (LHS Class of 1984), April Norberto (LHS Class of 1987), Melissa Seichepine (LHS Class of 1991); as well as seven grandsons, six granddaughters and three great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends Saturday, May 3, 2014, 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 7th and Miami, Leavenworth. A Celebration Of Life Service will follow at the church.
Condolences may be left HERE...
From the Fort Leavenworth Lamp - August 24, 2007
Milton Rush, 71, and fellow-barber John Rettig, 70, have nearly 100 years of combined experience working as contract barbers at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service barber shops at Ft. Leavenworth.In 1959 when Rush first came to work, Maj. Gen. Lionel McGarr was the commandant of the Command and General Staff College, a nuclear weapons course was offered and, in the basement of the new Bell Hall, you could get a haircut for a buck. Today, the CGSC curriculum reflects the war on terrorism, Bell Hall is slated for demolition and haircuts cost $8.25 in the new Lewis and Clark Center. However, after 48 years, Rush will still be happy to give you a haircut.
Rush completed barber training at Molar Barber College in Kansas City, Mo., shortly after graduating from Leavenworth High School in 1954. In the mid 1950s, Rush owned a barber shop on 5th Street in downtown Leavenworth. In 1956, he also began working part time at the Post Exchange barber shop. Then in the late 1950s, Rush gave up his business and started working as a full-time AAFES barber. He worked a split shift between the CGSC and the PX barber shops.
Today, the barbers typically arrive at work between 6 and 6:15 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. opening of the three-chair shop. They prepare the cash registers, clean shop, get their tools ready, then drink coffee and wait for customers. Business cranks up around 6:45 a.m. and Rush said he would see about 30 customers on a good day. Most of the patrons in the early morning are retirees because the active-duty Soldiers are doing physical training, said Rush, who served six years in the Kansas National Guard.
The best part of the job for Rush is being able to work indoors."We got air conditioning during the summer and heating in the winter," he said. What's the worst part of the job? "Sitting here doing nothing during class hours, especially when they (CGSC) have a guest speaker, it's dead."
Both Rettig and Rush have cut the hair of many service members who went on to become prominent officers. Rush fondly recalls Chaplain (then-Maj.) Douglas Carver, when he was a CGSC student. "He impressed me the most," Rush said. Maj. Gen. Carver is now the Army chief of chaplains. Perhaps his most notable customer was retired Gen. Colin Powell. They haven't seen much change in the hairstyles of their military costumers. "The whole idea is to keep it short and to keep it clean," Rush said. Rush said he likes the setup of the new shop that employs four barbers. "We have much better lighting, better cabinet space than we've had, it's a little bit narrower (floor space), but this is really a nice shop," he said. And, customers can catch the news on the wall-mounted high definition television.
Both Rettig and Rush work part time and neither of them foresee hanging up his clippers soon. "My health is good, I play a lot of softball to keep in shape," Rush said.
The AAFES barber shop at the Lewis and Clark Center is in the cafeteria area next to the bookstore. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
by Jeff Crawley, Fort Leavenworth Lamp Staff Writer
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