Recalling Mike Rushing - successful businessman, champion of several causes

Mike Rushing of Jackson, who died Sunday, March 5, at age 79, is being remembered for his vocation as co-founder of Rushing Marine, which has owned and operated towboats since 1979, as well as for his many avocations, which friends said improved the lives of many.

"Mr. Rushing was one of the greatest men I've ever known," said Shawn Embrey, staff member of Breaking Bonds Addiction Recovery Ministry, in which Rushing served as a teacher and guide.

"As (Mike) got sick and sought treatment, he still wanted to be there with the guys," he added, noting Rushing's constant presence at Tuesday night worship services for men in recovery at Jackson's New McKendree United Methodist Church.

"Mike grew up on the river and served as a deckhand, a captain, a pilot and a towboat owner. He could relate his experiences with men who worked the barges to those of us in recovery. Other than his wife and children, (Rushing) told me Breaking Bonds was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him," Embrey recalled.

Active in Scouting, Rushing was the recipient of the 2007 Silver Beaver Award, the highest commendation an adult leader may receive from the organization.

Rushing served as lay leader of New McKendree UMC, was on the church council and later became lay leader of the Southeast District of the UMC's Missouri Conference.

Stephen Limbaugh Jr., U.S. District Court Senior Judge, said he knew Rushing for nearly his entire life.

"I've known Mike since I was 4 or 5 years old and he would take me fishing at Capaha Park," Limbaugh recalled, adding the Limbaugh and Rushing families were neighbors on Sunset and Luce streets in Cape Girardeau in the 1950s.

"Mike was as fine a person as anyone could ever meet -- kind, decent and hugely successful in the barge line business," he said.

"Ask anyone on the river and they would vouch for Mike Rushing as a man of the highest integrity and a good and devout Methodist."

A boy and girl pose July 12, 2007, with a Soap Box derby car at Rushing Marine in Jackson. Mike Rushing, a member of the All-American Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame and a mentor and guide for Cape Girardeau Derby held each year, died Sunday, Mar. 5.Southeast Missourian file

A boy and girl pose July 12, 2007, with a Soap Box derby car at Rushing Marine in Jackson. Mike Rushing, a member of the All-American Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame and a mentor and guide for Cape Girardeau Derby held each year, died Sunday, Mar. 5.Southeast Missourian file

Soap Box Derby

Rushing was inducted last year into the All-American Soap Box Derby Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, for his decades of service helping children and their families enjoy the racing event.

Dave Rigdon, race director for the 2023 SBD race in Cape Girardeau, said Rushing fully embraced an oft-mentioned Derby philosophy -- "the kid builds the car and the car builds the kid."

Tracey Glenn, a prior local race director, said Rushing's passion for SBD cannot be overstated.

"Most especially, he loved the character building aspect (of SBD) as participants built their cars and raced them. For him, it wasn't about winning and losing but about lessons learned along the way," Glenn opined.

"Mike was patient in his approach and insisted on fairness in every aspect. He bought a special scale set to use for weighing cars to meet SBD regulations. He helped members of Cape Girardeau Rotary, longtime race sponsor, learn more about the mechanics of the Derby. Without him, Cape Rotary would not have enjoyed the success it has had over the past 22 years," she said.

"He was a man of great faith with a servant's heart (and) did so much for Soap Box, for Breaking Bonds, for his church and through the charitable grants funded through the golf tournament held each year in honor of his parents," Rigdon said.

Of note

Rigdon said Cape Girardeau Rotary plans to honor Rushing's memory at this year's event -- to be held Saturday, May 6, at its longtime location on North Sprigg Street in front of Barbara Blanchard Elementary School.