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Alfred Rusch Obituary
A first generation American of German descent, he grew up in Brooklyn, NY living over delis his parents owned and operated, and in Huntington, Long Island during high school. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Rutgers College, he became a pilot in the Air Force. When he received orders to be stationed on Kindley Air Force Base on Bermuda his life was forever blessed – it is there that he met Em Sutton Holland, his wife of sixty years, who taught school on the base. He called her "Baby" and she called him "Bunny". Theirs was a great romance.
In the early years of their marriage, she supported him by teaching while he attended Fordham Law School. Following law school, he was a Federal prosecutor at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and they lived in Alexandria, Virginia where they resided for fifty-seven years and raised their beloved son Ted.
Al believed you should work tenaciously, do your best at all times, always remain positive, and approach every day with great exuberance, a zest for life, and an effervescent spirit. He was strong, determined, a leader, and he was great fun — the quality for which he will be most remembered.
Al loved adventure, great stories, movies, and was an avid reader and collector. He loved travelling with Baby. Aside from their charming home, his favorite places were New York City, Paris, Richmond, Williamsburg, Sandbridge/Virginia Beach, and Bermuda. He also adored games and sports of all kinds – tennis, ping pong, hearts, and baseball being his favorite. One of his great aspirations was to be a tennis bum, and he was a Beau Brummel of sorts, known for his stylish, colorful regalia.
His precious Baby went to her great reward in October 2023, and his sister-in-law and dear friend Mancha White, preceded him in death by 20 years. Al is survived by his son Ted, Mancha's children, Bill, Mancha, and John and their families. Al's dear friends Paul and Elizabeth Ruff predeceased him, and he is survived by their children, Paul, Patrick, and Mary Ellen and their families. He is also survived by his brother Edward and his family.
A celebration of life will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia on Saturday March 29 at 11 a.m. with a reception following. Al will be interred at Hollywood Cemetery next to his beloved Baby, and her sister Mancha. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Twig.
www.thetwig.org/support-us/donate/
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Alfred Rusch
3 Entries
Theodore A Miles
February 13, 2026
Note - I sent this message in April of 2025. Not sure it was received. tm
To the family of Al Rusch:
Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the service for Al. Here are some memories of Al that I want to share with you.
I first met Al when we were both young lawyers in the Enforcement Division at the SEC back in the late 1960´s. That was an exciting time to be there, under the leadership of Irving Pollack and Stanley Sporkin - two giants in the field of securities law. Al had a prominent role in a landmark case that established the principle of separation of the underwriting Departments from the institutional investor Departments at Wall Street brokerage firms.
Years later, I became the Commissioner of Securities of the District of Columbia´s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, or DISB). DISB is a member of the North American Securities Association (NASAA), and I attended its conferences regularly. Al was a featured speaker at many of those conferences, and I enjoyed reconnecting with him.
When he later told me that he was going to retire from the SEC, I asked him if he would consider joining me at DISB. To my delight, he said he would. We then worked together for several years at DISB in the area of state securities regulation, which has substantial overlaps with federal securities regulation. We worked on one of the leading Wall Street analyst cases in the wake of the internet bubble. Subsequently, Al and I worked closely on various interpretations of securities law. He was always very knowledgeable, professional and analytic.
I got to know Al as a person during his time at DISB . I learned about his deep love for Em, whom I met once or twice, and of tennis, via his membership in a regional committee of (I think) the USLTA. He shared with me that he went to the meeting in Newport at which Doctor Johnson was honored for his contributions to the racial integration of US tennis. (Dr. Johnson was the first tennis coach and mentor of the pioneers Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe.)
When Al told me that it was time for him to "really" retire, so that he could spend more time with Em, I knew he was making the right decision for himself, but that I would be losing a valuable member of the securities team at DISB.
I will always remember Al fondly. Please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss.
Theodore A. (Tony) Miles
How you can show support
Theodore A. Miles
March 29, 2025
To the family of Al Rusch:
Unfortunately, I am not able to attend the service for Al. Here are some memories of Al that I want to share with you.
I first met Al when we were both young lawyers in the Enforcement Division at the SEC back in the late 1960´s. That was an exciting time to be there, under the leadership of Irving Pollack and Stanley Sporkin - two giants in the field of securities law. Al had a prominent role in a landmark case that established the principle of separation of the underwriting Departments from the institutional investor Departments at Wall Street brokerage firms.
Years later, I became the Commissioner of Securities of the District of Columbia´s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, or DISB). DISB is a member of the North American Securities Association (NASAA), and I attended its conferences regularly. Al was a featured speaker at many of those conferences, and I enjoyed reconnecting with him.
When he later told me that he was going to retire from the SEC, I asked him if he would consider joining me at DISB. To my delight, he said he would. We then worked together for several years at DISB in the area of state securities regulation, which has substantial overlaps with federal securities regulation. We worked on one of the leading Wall Street analyst cases in the wake of the internet bubble. Subsequently, Al and I worked closely on various interpretations of securities law. He was always very knowledgeable, professional and analytic.
I got to know Al as a person during his time at DISB . I learned about his deep love for Em, whom I met once or twice, and of tennis, via his membership in a regional committee of (I think) the USLTA. He shared with me that he went to the meeting in Newport at which Doctor Johnson was honored for his contributions to the racial integration of US tennis. (Dr. Johnson was the first tennis coach and mentor of the pioneers Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe.)
When Al told me that it was time for him to "really" retire, so that he could spend more time with Em, I knew he was making the right decision for himself, but that I would be losing a valuable member of the securities team at DISB.
I will always remember Al fondly. Please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss.
Theodore A. (Tony) Miles
Richard McKinney
March 23, 2025
You were one of the first to welcome me to Trinity UMC. I always enjoyed our talks.
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