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Jim Rush Legacy Memorial Fund

THE DR. JIM RUSH LIVING LEGACY FAMILY MEMORIAL FUND

Jim is beloved by his friends, students, and colleagues. He was extraordinarily gentle, kind, and compassionate toward all those that he encountered. He has worked tirelessly to empower his students and to bring altruism and compassion into all that he taught and did. He was passionate about being of service to others through his teaching, how he lived his life, and through his spiritual practices.

Jim had an incredible loving, giving, and supportive nature of tending to everyone who approached him with their troubles such that they left in a better state than they came. To read a tribute to Jim entitled "Celebrating Jim" and find out about his memorial celebrations click here.  Once on our website under the menu item "Celebrating Jim you will find a drop down menu with information about the memorial celebrations and Jim's book.

I have been encouraged to set up a memorial fund as a way we can all express our gratitude as well as return his support of us through continuing his legacy.  

The Dr. Jim Rush Living Legacy Family Memorial Fund has been set up on GoFundMe with the advice from our accountant and banker, as a way to make it easier for all those who love Jim to participate as they wish. 

The funds will cover the following:

I. MEDICAL AND CAREGIVER EXPENSES
Jim was diagnosed with glioblastoma on January 26, 2018. A week later he underwent neurosurgery to remove the largest of the brain tumors in the right hemisphere of the brain.

 Jim spent about a month in recovery and rehabilitation at the hospital, when he returned home he still required 24 hour care and assistance as he was confined to a wheelchair and had weakness on his left side.

Though I never left his side, due to his 24 hour care and assistance needs, home-aids/caregivers, a physical therapist and occupational therapist where hired to help him attain his goal of returning to teaching.

On May 9, 2018, a CT Scan revealed the tumor had grown back bigger and branching into the left hemisphere of the brain. On May 10, 2018, Jim entered in hospice care here at home and made his transition on May 22, 2018.


II. A BOOK OF JIM'S WISDOM, INSIGHTS & INSPIRATIONS
Over the short five years I have spent with Jim as his beloved and wife, I have been deeply touched by the stories he shared with me about his students, colleagues, and friends.  Each one revealed his extraordinary depth of wisdom and compassion. It seems even people who only met him briefly felt the profound love he had for every being.  

To honor, share, and continue Jim's life transformative legacy, I wish to ask you to share your stories of Jim with me to compile into a book, entitled: "Dog Rose of the Wild Forces: Stories of Jim’s Wisdom, Insights, and Inspirations" so that his legacy can continue to touch the lives of others as he has so directly touched ours. Click here to learn more and contribute your story.

III.  CONTRIBUTION IN MEMORY OF JIM OF  A PEACE POLE TO PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE
Jim dedicated his life, prayers, teaching, and service to individual, community, and world peace. The contribution of a Peace Pole at Philander Smith College, where Jim taught for 42 years, would honor his passionate devotion to aiding others, his community, and the world to find peace.

"A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message and prayer "May Peace Prevail on Earth" on each of its four or six sides, in different languages. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. They serve as constant reminders for us to visualize and pray for world peace. When you plant a Peace Pole in your community, you are linking with people all over the world who have planted Peace Poles in the same spirit of peace." - from peacepoleproject.org website and peacepoles.com


IV.  MAINTAIN SACRED SPACE OF HIS HOME, OGYEN GATSAL LING,  AND WEBSITE OFFERING FREE MEDITATION AND TEACHINGS

Our home was originally owned by Kurt Weilheim, who donated it to the Ecumenical Buddhist Society (EBS) to be used as a temple and sacred space. Though EBS practice groups met here, EBS was unable to get the appropriate zoning to make it into a religious center. Jim was a founding member of EBS and bought the home so as to maintain it as a sacred space. EBS practice groups continued to meet here, and multiple Tibetan Buddhist teachers have blessed the home by teaching here over the years of Jim owning the home. Also, shortly after Jim bought the home, a group of Tibetan monks from India stayed here. The young monks blessed and named the home, Ogyen Gatsal Ling.

All of those who have meditated and taught here helped create a temple and beautiful sacred space. Jim has worked tirelessly for over 22 years through his spiritual practices to maintain the sacred presence in our home to radiate peace and compassion out into the world.  All those that enter feel the calm sacredness and compare the feeling to entering a temple or cathedral.

After we were married we began offering meditation and teachings free of charge here in our home and on a website. The website contains the only known recording of Jim leading a guided meditation. Many find this meditation of great benefit and use it on a daily basis. A recent letter from one of his colleagues, who had moved to another country from the United States, stated that the guided meditation has helped them on a daily basis be with their fear and grief of being away from family and friends.

We did not set up our website or our offerings in our home as a business or organization; we offer what we can from our passion to being of service to others to alleviate suffering. 

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As a Methodist Minister, Philosopher, and Buddhist, Jim spent his life exploring the depths of who we are as spiritual human beings. He had interest in and was open to the world's religions, spiritual and healing systems. He was focused on alleviating suffering at the root cause of ignorance of one's true self. When asked the one most important teaching he could offer, he said "know thy self". Whether sitting quietly at home or teaching, Jim was passionate about being of service to others through how he lived his life and his spiritual practices. 

“Thank you so much, Dr. Rush, for being our healer, teacher, colleague, and friend. May we honor you by doing our best to emulate your love, compassion, wisdom, and faith in the goodness of us all." - Dr. Lia Steele, Chair of the Division of Arts and Humanities at Philander Smith College

Organizer

Kaycie Marler-Rush
Organizer
Little Rock, AR

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