Catherine Joyce (Coulter) Rush of El Dorado, Kansas went to her eternal home in Heaven on August 15, 2022 at the age of 87. Joyce was born in Pratt, Kansas in 1934 to Harold and Hilda Coulter. She graduated from Pratt High School in 1952 and Pratt Junior College in 1954. Joyce married Hardie Eugene “Gene” Rush of Pratt on August
Joyce’s most memorable experience was receiving Christ as her personal Lord and Savior at a 1979 Lay Witness Mission held in her home church. At the same time, unbeknownst to herself, her daughter and husband were saved at the same time. Through God’s call on her life, she and Gene became a witness in 60 plus Lay Witness Missions which were as close as Wichita, KS and as far as Brisbane and Adelaide, Australia, as well as missions in nine other U.S. states. She remained active in the Lay Witness mission work until 2018. Joyce was an active member of the El Dorado First Baptist Church and the Son-Flower Laity Renewal.
Additional memories include living 13 months in Wurzburg, Germany with her husband during his 1957-58 U.S. Army tour of duty and her participation in bringing girl’s gymnastics to El Dorado along with the start of the El Dorado Gymnastics Club in 1970. Joyce enjoyed sewing, photography and cake decorating for family and friends; as well as a number of large 3-dimensional cake sculptures for yearly birthday parties for Jesus at her church.
As a teenager, Joyce began employment as a soda jerk at the Pratt Owl Drug Store. She and Gene moved to El Dorado in 1959, where she worked for McClure Motor Co., Cory, Webster, Lawrence & Greenblat, J.A. Allison and Oil Hill Industries as a bookkeeper. In 1962, she left the workforce to be a stay-at-home mom. Gene and Joyce were owners of Rush Plumbing & Heating, Inc. in El Dorado serving the community for 22 years. They retired October 31, 1999 and continued to share many travel adventures throughout numerous national and state parks, 6 trips to Israel, as well as traveling to other countries throughout their retirement and lifetime.
Joyce is survived by her husband Gene of 68 years; daughter, Lisa Rush of El Dorado, KS; brother, Roger Coulter of Tulsa, OK; and numerous cousins. She is preceded in death by her parents.
Friends may gather with family at Carlson Funeral Home on Sunday, August 21 from 2-4 pm. A private family interment will take place at Walnut Valley Memorial Park. A celebration of Joyce’s life will be held at the El Dorado First Baptist Church on Saturday, August 27 at 10 AM. Memorial contributions may be directed to El Dorado First Baptist Church Missions. Please sign her online guestbook at www.carlsonkirbymorris.com
