I Lost a close friend tonight

This is my personal thread to share practices that have served my WISP well
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sirhc
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I Lost a close friend tonight

Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:29 pm

Many of you knew I had a partner with RF Armor however few of you knew his name, his name was Russell Ross but he preferred to be called Rusty.

I have known him and had the privileged of being his friend for almost 30 years.

Rusty was a hemophiliac and sadly had contracted hepatitis G from a blood transfusion in the 70's that was not discovered until about 12 years ago. He successfully went through treatment to cure the hepatitis but the disease left his liver extremely compromised.

A few months ago he was diagnosed with late stage liver cancer but because the liver was so damaged the cancer treatment was unsuccessful.

For the past few weeks I had been in denial of the severity of the situation and being so consumed with demands from Netonix I wasted several opportunities to spend some quality time with one of the few close friends I have.

Rusty was 60 years young but he had the demeanor of a much younger guy.

Let me tell you a little bit about Rusty. He was a conservative which often found us at odds on political conversations. In his younger years Rusty raced cars on a semi professional level racing everything from drag racing cars to dirt track racing which was his real passion where he won many races and championships.

Rusty was also a gun nut and his knowledge of firearms was extensive along with his collection of everything from small arms up to well, lets just say VERY LARGE GUNS. It was nothing for him to burn through 10,000 rounds in a single day. He also built guns from scratch that you would think came from an armory.

He was an extremely talented with metal fabrication and went to school for mechanical engineering.

He scared many people with the way he looked and carried himself (sorta big and bad ass) but if you had the privileged to know him and be his friend you soon learned he was one of the most caring and giving people you would ever know but my advice was to NEVER EVER piss him off.

It was my friendship with Rusty that taught me that friends are rare and true friends are even rarer and you should never give or call someone a friend unless you mean it. Friends can argue and even fight but once you make a real friend you should never give up on them.

Rusty never married or had kids so it will be up to his friends to carry on his memory.

So with that being said if you felt that RF Armor shield kits helped you out in anyway then the next time you have a beer raise it up and tell Rusty Ross thanks, he would really appreciate it!

Service will be Friday so RF Armor will be close in his memory the day of service.

Service will be at Furman funeral home, 59 West Main Street, Leola, PA 17540.

I will miss you Rusty.
Rusty.jpg
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Dave
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:58 pm

life does pass us all by much to quickly, and it is good that you & Rusty found each other & had the relationship that you did.

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JustJoe
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:42 am

We all have a tendency to get totally focused on this crazy radio hobby of ours. Sometimes while I am up at 3 AM waiting for a service window opportunity, my mind wanders, thinking about the priorities in life. There are only so many hours in a day, and we often have no choice but doing what we have to do, because we do care.

To have as good of a friend as you did, you obviously did care over a long period of time, and I am sure Rusty knew that.

Thanks for so eloquently sharing this story with us. Makes us all stop and think.

And thanks Rusty, from now on, every time I assemble a shiny new RF Armor box i will think of the story we read tonight.

:cheers:

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WisTech
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:15 pm

Man, glad you took the time to write this about Rusty. Wish I would've gotten to know the fella, but thankful you got to have the time to know him and befriend him. May he rest in peace.

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amishgenius
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:49 pm

I didn't know Rusty, but I'm sorry Chris.

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mhoppes
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Wed Feb 11, 2015 4:28 pm

So sorry to hear that, Chris. We seem to have lost several folks from the WISP community in the last few days. Makes you stop and ponder where you're going to end up and how you're spending your time each day.

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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:07 pm

Sorry, So sad Chris!
Take Care
Paul

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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Sun Feb 15, 2015 12:06 am

Very sorry to hear that, Chris.

As I get older, one of the few things I have come to understand is that life is short - so whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it. Sounds like you and Rusty did get to enjoy each other's company over a number of years, and that's precious in itself.

Respects,

Nick

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treich
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:34 am

Hey Chris
I just wanted to send my late prayers to you for losing an very close friend to cancer. I know how it personally feels to fight cancer I fought it 5 years ago and I am very lucky to beat Nasopharyngeal cancer at age of 26 and was only married for 6months i went through hell with 3 months of chemo and 7 weeks m-f 20 mins an day for radation. But now I am dealing with late side effects that docs don't tell you about which I am very pissed off BC I'm in chronic pain 24/7 I am seeing an pain mgt doctor but so far its not helping at all.

I know that its going take time to heal your heart in this sad day but keep your friend in your thoughts.

Take care bud

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sirhc
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Re: I Lost a close friend tonight

Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:47 am

treich wrote:Hey Chris
I just wanted to send my late prayers to you for losing an very close friend to cancer. I know how it personally feels to fight cancer I fought it 5 years ago and I am very lucky to beat Nasopharyngeal cancer at age of 26 and was only married for 6months i went through hell with 3 months of chemo and 7 weeks m-f 20 mins an day for radation. But now I am dealing with late side effects that docs don't tell you about which I am very pissed off BC I'm in chronic pain 24/7 I am seeing an pain mgt doctor but so far its not helping at all.

I know that its going take time to heal your heart in this sad day but keep your friend in your thoughts.

Take care bud


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