San Antonio – Family, friends, and the community gathered at the Tech Port Arena Sunday to honor the longtime local radio broadcaster Russell Rush.
People described Russell as a radio host, storyteller, and great friend. He was known for his vibrant personality and community advocacy.
“I worked in radio for 27 years. I’ve never met anybody who is more passionate about the community and all the right things. He loved San Antonio,” said longtime friend and co-worker, Chase Murphy.
Outside of being a longtime on-air personality and program director for Mix 96.1, his passion did not stop at the microphone. He was a partner for several non-profit groups, including Make-A-Wish, Toys for Tots, and Susan G Komen. Murphy says Russell raised cancer awareness even before he was diagnosed with a rare type, T-Cell Lymphoma.
“Raise for the cure was probably one of his biggest things. It meant a lot to him. He wanted to have the biggest group, and he wanted to raise the most money,” said Murphy.
Russell first announced his diagnosis to listeners in June 2021. He explained his diagnosis had no cure, only treatment and hope for remission. While he fought cancer, he continued storytelling and carrying out one of his favorite projects “The Russell Rush Haunted Tour. It is something his friend Vanessa Garcia says that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Days and nights, weekends, away from family just creating content, piecing it together. They’re the reasons why we have two Emmys,” said Garcia.
As people took out time to say their final goodbye on Sunday, they did so in “Russell Fashion” by singing songs and sharing video dedications to his family.