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70 | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | NOVEMBER 2025 | Friends we will miss Submit your Friends We Will Miss to sunlakesnews@yahoo.com. Please keep remembrances to 400 words and include one recent, high-resolution photo. James "Jim" Rusk, age 96, passed away on August 12, 2025, in his home surrounded by his loving family members. He was born to Ora and Roscoe Rusk on March 30, 1929, in Oaks, Oklahoma, where he attended school grades 1-12. Jim was an outstanding basketball player in Oaks and later at Northeastern State University (NSU) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and at the US Naval Center in San Diego. Jim met Eva (Eve) Horn, the love of his life, at NSU in 1949. In December of 1950 he volunteered for service in the United States Navy, which took him out to California. Eve and Jim were married in 1951 and lived up and down the California coast for four years. After Jim finished serving his country, they returned to Tahlequah with their two children to finish school, both earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education. Over the course of many summers, Jim and Eve established a second home in Tahlequah, where they were thrilled to spend time with friends and family. Jim loved the summers he spent fishing on the lakes and rivers in Oklahoma. In 1955, Jim and Eve accepted jobs with the school district of Lordsburg, New Mexico. He coached successful basketball, football, and track teams, traveling as far as Arizona to the west, Texas to the east, Mexico to the south, and placing highly in the state playoffs in Albuquerque. In addition to coaching, he also drove the team bus on many of those trips. After 11 years of teaching in New Mexico, the family moved to Banning, California, in 1966, where he continued teaching for 22 more years. He also taught Government classes at College of the Desert in Palm Desert for several years. During all these years, Jim was fortunate enough to develop a deep connection with his students, remaining in touch with many of them after they graduated. Jim will be remembered by thousands of his former students for his kind heart and his witty sense of humor. Jim was very proud of his Cherokee ancestry, remaining in touch with current events in the Nation and following their traditions throughout his life. This background provided him with an additional path to connect with his Morongo students outside of academics, and he was pleased to live near the Morongo Reservation. He always greeted his grandchildren with a happy "Osiyo!". In 1987, Jim and Eve closed escrow in the newly built Sun Lakes Country Club, the 10th new owners to do so, and a few months later they moved into Sun Lakes as the third occupants in the new gated community. Jim spent many years as an avid tennis player there. Jim Rusk was greatly loved. He is survived by Eve, his loving wife of 74 years, his sister Juanita Kosary, his daughter Gae Rusk, his son Craig Rusk and wife Libby, grandson Jud McRoberts and wife Angelina, his granddaughters Lena Gaily, Jamesy McRoberts, and Hannah "Ev" Rusk, grandson Matt Rusk, his 11 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. Jim will be dearly missed by a multitude of loved ones.