Cape businessman, civic leader Harry Rust dies

Harry Rust, a prominent businessman and civic leader in Cape Girardeau died Wednesday. He was 84.

Long involved in the family's Rust & Martin Inc., an interior design, furniture and furnishing business, Rust was a former chairman of the board of the Cape Girardeau of Commerce, having been elected to that position in 1991. He also served on the chamber's building committee when it set up shop on Mount Auburn in 1996. He was a member of the Cape Girardeau Lion's Club and Centenary Church in Cape Girardeau, where he served in various roles.

Rust, the brother of Gary Rust, chairman of the board of the Southeast Missourian, was named to Baron's 1990 issue of 'Who's Who in Interior Design' in 1989, according to newspaper archives. In 1980, he was a board member of the National Home Furnishings Association.

He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a B.S. in business administration, and attended the New York School of Interior Design, from which he received a certificate in 1956. Under his leadership, Rust & Martin expanded into Paducah, Kentucky.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete with Ford and Sons Funeral Home.