85162235
Apathy parted with a great adversary Aug. 14 when Jeffrey Rush lost his brief fight against pancreatic cancer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He was 67. The Queen Village crusader had devoted more than three decades to addressing a plethora of pressing issues with aplomb and garnered admiration from City officials and neighbors for adhering to his principles and analyzing the possible consequences of every community plan.
His departure has left his closest allies grateful for his allegiance to South Philadelphia and eager to try to emulate his civic success.
“He was a true Philadelphian in every sense of the word,” former 1st District Councilman Frank DiCicco said Tuesday of Mr. Rush, with whom he had enjoyed a 30-year friendship. “His legacy will be his advocacy for increased engagement in one’s community.”
The political personality often consulted his acquaintance when looking to gauge the chief concerns for Queen Village. He noted Mr. Rush, who lived with his wife, Kathleen McCann Rush, at Christian Street and Columbus Boulevard, aimed to make lives better “block by block.” When learning last year Mr. Rush had submitted his résumé to obtain a position with the Zoning Board of Adjustment, DiCicco offered praise of his friend to the body responsible for hearing petitions for variances and appeals of development decisions.
“That was really a no-brainer,” he said of vouching for Mr. Rush, whom he cited as exuding passion for Queen Village and the city’s other territories.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s February 2011 appointment allowed Mr. Rush to add another impressive title to his work history. At the time of the appointment, he was winding down the final year of his second stint as the Queen Village Neighbors Association president, following roles as a board member and vice president, and continuing what would become a 20-year affiliation with the Interstate Land Management Corp. Other achievements included serving in the U.S. Army as an assistant to the brigade commander of the 101st Airborne and acting as the vice chair for the Central Delaware Advocacy Group, which, along with the Delaware River Waterfront Corp., helped to develop the Master Plan for the Central Delaware.
That final responsibility assisted Mr. Rush in conceiving beautification ideas for the waterfront and enabled him to tackle the proposed Foxwoods Casino project, which would have, had the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board not voted Dec. 16, ’10 to strip investors of their ’06 license, placed a gaming hall between Tasker and Reed streets on South Columbus Boulevard.
“We have been disconnected from the waterfront for too long,” Mr. Rush said in a December ’10 Review interview. “We need to enhance it with parks and wetlands, not a casino.”
“He had an open mind but never so on the topic of casinos,” DiCicco said of Mr. Rush.
DiCicco, who confided in Mr. Rush in 1996 as he debated whether to run for City Council, left office Jan. 2 after four terms. During his tenure, he became so accustomed to dealing with Mr. Rush on civic matters that he one day felt compelled to inquire about his chum’s professional identity.
“Conversations were never about him, but I had to say ‘What do you do for a living?’” DiCicco said.
He learned Mr. Rush had owned and operated the Mayfair-based Lube Master Inc., an auto maintenance and repair facility, since 1996. Though that vocation appealed to him, it appeared, DiCicco said, that Mr. Rush used it as a secondary career, with the upkeep of Queen Village as his supreme calling. Added proof of that came in 2008, when he supported his area’s designation as the city’s first Neighborhood Conservation District. Through it, the City Planning Commission must review specific design guidelines for each construction project requiring a building permit, with the guidelines meant to preserve Queen Village’s architectural characteristics.
“If you ask me, he should have been in public office,” DiCicco said. “He was so up front and center. I’m really going to miss him.”
Mr. Rush grew up on Seventh Street and Oregon Avenue, completing secondary studies at Central High School before trying out business and law at Temple University. Various employment ventures occupied him upon the end of his two-year military service, culminating with the acquisition of the auto repair facility. He made the purchase 15 years after relocating to Queen Village, by which time he had already made scores of friends from all over, including Pennsport, where he met Rene Goodwin.
“Pennsport and Queen Village were at the dawn of a new era,” Goodwin, of the 200 block of Federal Street, said of the early 1980s. “Even then, Jeff was exhibiting characteristics of a great leader. He soon became a tour de force for all causes.”
The Pennsport Civic Association board member fondly recalled lengthy conversations with her peer, whom she lauded as the owner of a wonderful sense of humor.
“He was fond of gesticulating, so he became Mr. Jazz Hands,” she said, with a laugh.
Mr. Rush, whose relatives requested privacy during their mourning period, won followers because he communicated effectively and acknowledged every issue’s complexity, Goodwin said.
“The entire goal for him was civility yet with an appreciation for details,” she said. “He was savvy in knowing how to talk with people.”
Though he carried an unflinching dedication to communal sustainability, he enjoyed light pursuits, too, with love for the Eagles and the Phillies at the top. Goodwin said his numerous interests gave him a certain aura and the Zoning Board appointment cemented his pioneer status.
“It proved he was his own man,” she said.
Mr. Rush left the Queen Village Neighbors Association’s presidency this year, with Jeff Hornstein, of the 300 block of Queen Street, succeeding him.
“Pure passion for the neighborhood and the city,” Hornstein, whose group has devised the Jeff Rush Community Improvement Fund, said of the inspiration behind Mr. Rush’s civic role. “I feel he has left QVNA in a great position for the next generation to build upon and make a great neighborhood even greater.”
Like Goodwin, Hornstein will never forget his colleague’s influence.
“I made a point of having a drink with Jeff every couple of months so I could take advantage of his immense knowledge and wisdom,” he said. “That is what I will miss most of all.”
“Whenever something positive would occur, Jeff would say ‘It’s a beautiful thing,’” DiCicco added of Mr. Rush. “Well, it’s a beautiful thing so many people knew him.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
85162255
85162245
