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Adeline (Addie) Rush was born as Adeline Otilia Engel on December 22, 1928 in San Antonio, Texas to Henry and Hilda Engel. She died on December 10th, 2020 peacefully in her home surrounded with love and prayer. Addie was preceded in death by her husband of more than 50 years Harold J. (Joe) Rush, by many in her large extended family including her parents Henry and Hilda Engel, her brothers Jerome (Jerry) and Harold (Red) Engel, and her beloved daughter Melanie Rush Davis. Addie Rush is survived by a large family who treasured her as a glamorous super mom and who will always miss her. She was an exceptional woman. As a working mother of eight children, she defied the constraints of her time. Her family was devoutly Catholic and Addie had a Catholic education, graduating with honors from St. Gerard’s Catholic High School. She was a proud and active member of the Central Texas German community. Addie’s mother was a Vogel of New Braunfels and her father was the son of Andreas Engel, who built the town of Bergheim,Texas and founded the historic Bergheim General Store. Addie attended local college classes and withdrew to accept employment with an insurance company housed in the historic Smith-Young Tower, now called the Tower Life Building. In 1948 she met Harold Joseph (Joe) Rush, a handsome Air Force Lieutenant and WWII veteran, stationed at Randolph Air Force Base. They fell completely in love and married in June of 1949. Adventures followed. The couple spent a year in Houston while Joe completed his Officer Training studies. Subsequent posts included upstate New York, Columbus, Indiana, Ankara, Turkey, Marin County, California, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines and finally back home to Texas in 1974. She has lived in San Antonio since that time and joined St Luke’s Catholic Church where she was a reader for masses and active in the Altar Society. Proud of her heritage as a third generation Hill Country Texan, Addie participated eagerly in the Engel cousin monthly lunches and both the Vogel and Engel family reunions once she resettled in San Antonio. While Joe fulfilled obligations in Korea, Vietnam, Iran, and even exotic Ohio, Addie kept the home fires warm and welcoming as she attended to the needs of her kids and the extended family. She was an outstanding cook, bringing TexMex and German cooking to all her new locales and adapting local favorites from Turkey, the Philippines, and Europe to her own table. Her turkey gravy was legendary and no Thanksgiving was complete without it. As devoted as she was to her family, Addie was not a stay at home mom. Wherever Joe and Addie were stationed, they considered it a start for more extensive travels, including to Europe, Africa, Lebanon, South East Asia, Hawaii, and extensively throughout the United States and Canada. She was an accomplished program manager who held positions of responsibility and leadership wherever she found herself. Addie served as an executive assistant to military officers in Ankara, Turkey and as a civil servant she led the procurement office at Hamilton Air Force Base in California. When the Rushes settled back in San Antonio, Addie went to work at the newly built San Antonio campus of the University of Texas where she directed operations of the Student Center. At UTSA, she was also an accomplished grant writer and became the first staff member to be assigned a personal computer to support the excellent results she obtained for researchers and teaching staff. Addie walked beside her Air Force Officer husband as President of the Officers Wives Club in Indiana and President of the Women's Golf Association in the Philippines. When they retired, she led the volunteer group of Easter Seals Associates and in the 1990s and early 2000s was President of the condo association of Lafayette Place where she lived until the end of her life. Addie and Joe were magnets for fellowship, conviviality, and celebration of life’s possibilities. Their house parties were filled with diverse people from all walks of life. Addie's skill as a hostess ensured no one felt left out while Joe’s story telling encouraged everyone to laugh and share their own. They were quite a pair. Addie and Joe could clear the floor when they danced together. They loved music and taught their kids to harmonize as they raised their voices in song. They were excellent bridge players, participating in social games and tournaments wherever they lived. They loved sports and games of all kinds - family charades at Thanksgiving were anticipated by three generations of family. Addie and Joe’s warmth and welcoming nature overcame barriers of background, race, and class without deliberation – it was just who they were. Following Joe’s death in 2005, Addie continued to live independently and to travel to visit friends and family around the country. In 2012 she received a diagnosis of macular degeneration. She managed the vision loss for many years, and eagerly adopted the coping techniques provided by the Lighthouse for the Blind who taught her many skills that she mastered and used for the rest of her life. She maintained an active social life, and continued to live independently until October of 2019 when debilitation from congestive heart failure required live-in care. She said that God sent her an angel in the form of Wynona Hudson who lived with and cared for Addie until her death. Addie is survived by many loving friends all over the world and by her sister Evelyn Engel Magee, who called every day to check on her, and brother in law Buddy Magee, their children and many cousins throughout Central Texas. Addie was godmother to her cousin Charlie Schraub who married Michelle Belto and remained close to Addie throughout their lives. Her surviving children are Harold J (Skip) Rush Jr, Sharron Rush, Candice Rush Moore, Kathleen (Tish) Rush, Michael S Rush, Lisa Rush Sterba, Laurie Rush, and adopted daughter Wynona Hudson. Her kids all have their own version of the Mom who was there for them. She was there for awards ceremonies, for driving across the country, for attending wounds, or picking up grandkids from day care. She was Mom, Grandma, Nana or Aunt Addie to all their friends, and beyond. If you needed an answer, you went to Mom. If you needed forgiveness, a hug, a laugh, a shoulder to cry on, a problem to be solved, a dilemma in the kitchen - you went to Mom. She always had the answer - or made you believe she did and that everything had an answer. She was an inspiration in the way she carried herself and in the elegant way she dealt with the joys and sorrows of her life. She continued to inspire us as she dealt with the difficulties of failing eyesight and health. She stayed engaged and involved with the many people she loved, continuing to enjoy the company of family and friends until the end. Addie warmly embraced those who married her kids - her sons and daughters-in-law. She is survived by Donna Rush, Ron Hicks, Jimmy Moore, Kemp Davis, Paula Rush, Jeff Sterba and former daughter-in-law Memory Rush who remained part of the family even after divorce. Former sons-in-law Frank Davila and Pat Praeger preceded Addie in death. Addie was a doting grandmother to Aaron Rush, Kylah Rush-Koppel, Ethan Murphy, Molly Moore, Lydia Moore, Emma Davis, Joseph Davila, Jacob Davila, Hunter Sterba, Taylor Sterba, and Brandon Praeger. Her great-grandkids called her GG and are Quinlan and Naomi Rush-Koppel, and Abraham Logan Rush. Addie’s indomitable spirit lives on in the joy of being that she embodied and the great love that she always shared. The family would like to thank the many people including Dorothy Zey, Karen Sanderson, Mary Altman, Cindy Guggar Judy Dickey, and Ashley Hogan who brought food and companionship, provided rides, sent cards and prayers. Special thanks to Erin and Larry, her bridge partners who became her faithful dinner companions even in the hard times. Addie also appreciated the support of the hospice team, including Barbara and Stephanie. We are grateful that her life ended as she lived it - filled with love and nurturing. In lieu of flowers please donate in her honor to the Lighthouse for the Blind or Meals on Wheels, two organizations that were very helpful in her last years. For the safety and well-being of families and friends, the memorial, rosary, and mass will all be live-streamed on St. Lukes' Catholic Church's Facebook page and YouTube channel to celebrate Adeline's going Home on Tuesday, December 22nd, at 1:30 pm. The links are provided below: https://www.facebook.com/STLUKESANANTOINO https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Lq2rHAdYjvjttF-Sr3KrA

Tributes

Adeline "Addie" Rush

December 22, 1928 - December 10, 2020