Paul Lincoln Rush

Paul Lincoln Rush

February 12, 1953 ~ May 10, 2014

Paul was born in Seattle on Lincoln's birthday in 1953. He grew up, with one brother and three sisters, where he could see the Space Needle being built.

He graduated from Roosevelt High School and went to work for the Fun Forest Amusement Park at the Seattle Center. He became the Supervisor of Kiddie Land. He loved working with children, and they loved him.

He married Tonja Jackson and they had a son, Ian Rush, who was the light of his life. In 1991, he married Laura Staley, and they spent 22 very happy years together.

At 33 he went to Alcoholics Anonymous. He became a mainstay of the Greenlake AA group. He spent thousands of hours talking to newly sober alcoholics about how to survive without drinking. He probably saved lives.

He worked for Spectrum Glass for the last eight years of his life. He fixed forklifts and compressors and admonished people to treat their forklifts right. Sometimes it worked.

That was what Paul did; this is who he was. He cared about people. He was the first to help someone in trouble, whether they needed money, or a place to stay, or their car fixed.

He was smart and creative. His favorite saying, when he'd solved a problem, was "It'll bolt right up." And it usually did. His last project was helping install a pair of community mailboxes. He had a wonderful time because it involved three of the things he loved most: figuring something out, mechanical work, and talking.

He was a skilled musician. The Beach Boys were his band, and he spent hours at the keyboard playing their music. He loved their complexity, sensitivity, and above all their harmonies. His favorite holiday was New Year's day, because he and his brother and sisters would play music together.

He loved cars and racing. In the last three years of his life, he worked with Jon "Fozzy Bear" Roberts on the #64 Sound Advice Mini-stock race car. They won a pair of championships together although they really only had two goals: to have fun, and not crash.

He loved his family and his friends. They gave him such joy. And he gave them such joy in return. He will be missed.

Paul leaves behind his beloved wife Laura Staley; his son Ian Patrick Rush; his mother Margaret Thue; three sisters, Julia Elster (Steven), Karen Quackenbush (Jon), and Martha Applegate; one brother, Matthew Rush (Becky): and numerous nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

A memorial service for Paul will be held Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at Mountlake Terrace Christian Church, 5304 232nd St. SW, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the cancer group of your choice.