GEORGETOWN - Gerald Clifford Rust passed away on Jun. 24, 2017, at the Delaware Veterans Home in Milford. He was born at home on his parents' farm in Millsboro on Mar. 8, 1940, to Clifford Edward Rust and Mary Amanda (Outten) Rust.
Gerald attended Millsboro High School where he played basketball and was a member of the Future Farmers of America. Upon his graduation in 1958, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. After completing basic training at Cape May, N.J., he was stationed for four years in Savannah, Georgia. He learned to weld in the Coast Guard and after his military service he worked briefly for Rumpstich Machine Works, Inc. in Milford. He returned to farming and took a job at the DuPont Nylon Plant in Seaford, where he worked for 29 years and made many close friends. After his retirement from DuPont, he formed Pear Tree Contracting and built beautiful custom homes.
Gerald married Mary Louise Donnelly on Aug. 25, 1962, at St. Agnes Catholic Church in West Chester, Pa. They were happily married for 55 years. They enjoyed traveling together and hosting family and friends at their beach cottage on Prime Hook Beach. In later years, they renovated a small cottage on Tybee Island, Ga. and enjoyed spending vacations there with family. Gerald loved the sea and he loved to fish. He spent his happiest times with family and friends fishing on his boat on the Delaware Bay or surf fishing on Assateague Island.
Gerald is survived by his wife, Mary Lou Rust of Georgetown; his daughter, Sharon Rust of Georgetown; his son, Michael Rust of Oxford, Md.; and his daughter, Diane Wyatt of Charlottesville, Va.; his brother, Virgil Rust (Charlotte) of LaCrosse, Wis.; his brother, Steven Rust (Cindy) of Georgetown; his sister, Linda Rust (Robert Hermanson) of Georgetown; and his brother, David Rust of Naples, Fla.; his grandchildren, Jillian Dalton, Gabrielle Bowden, Brady Bowden, Megan Rust, Sarah Rust, William Rust, Georgia Wyatt and Cyrus Wyatt; his great-grandchildren, Brynnlee Dalton and Westyn Dalton; and his many nieces and nephews and other relatives. Gerald will be always remembered for his kindness and generosity and for his heart for the poor.
Gerald was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Amanda; and by a son, William Granville Rust, a wound which by God's grace will now be healed.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jul. 1, 2017, in the chapel of Short Funeral Services, 609 E. Market Street, Georgetown. The family will be greeting friends and relatives 12 to 1 p.m. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018or Delaware Hospice, Inc., 100 Patriots Way, Milford, Delaware 19963.