The Facts
Born Russell Allen Hilst on December 29, 1942, Rusty was a fixture on the Hutchinson scene for most of his 82 years, where he pursued his passions for teaching, golfing, sports broadcasting, gardening, and writing. He died peacefully at home on June 17, 2025 following a two-and-a-half year battle with bulbar-onset Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). Rusty is survived by four sisters and two brothers (one sister preceded him in death) along with a host of nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews. He will be missed, but not forgotten.
The Story
Those are the broad facts of my brother's life, but they don't begin to capture his essence. If it is true that "time is not measured by the years that you live, but by the deeds that you do and the joy that you give" (Helen Steiner Rice), then Rusty's life was truly outsized, dwarfing even his 82 years.
My brother did what he loved, and he loved so much! How do you distill that into an obituary? I've agonized over that impossibility, until finally realizing my mistake. His friends have already done the heavy-lifting. We have only to listen, while they give you Rusty...
In the words of one good friend, " Rusty was truly one of one" - there are no others like him.
Another proclaimed him, "My Yoda. So smart, so passionate, so compassionate, such an inspiration."
Yet another marveled at the way he poured into his students' lives "wisdom and kindness, always believing in their potential."
"What I admired most," one remarked, "was how deeply he cared — for his family, his friends, and for doing things the right way. He brought thoughtfulness, grace, and fierce competitive spirit into every moment... Rusty leaves behind a legacy of excellence, kindness, and integrity."
That refrain echoes again and again, "How lucky for all of us that we enjoyed the wit, wisdom and wonder of this incredibly fine and decent man."
And, with a humorous nod to his passing, "Heaven is in for a treat."
The Making of a Legend
Rusty deserves the superlatives. But how did he grow into them?
Born four days after Christmas in 1942 to Harold and Thelma (Borger) Hilst. Rusty enjoyed an uneventful (well, except for ingesting a little gasoline!) early childhood in small town Meade. That changed when he contracted rheumatic fever in the second grade and was confined to bed for eight long months. There were no TVs in those days, and even radios were scarce. So Rusty spent those months teaching himself to read and devouring all the mysteries and adventures the library could offer up. From chance and adversity grew a lifelong passion for learning, reading, and self-sufficiency.
In 1957, Rusty's family moved to Hutchinson. Here Rusty discovered another grand passion — golf. It happened almost incidentally, again owing to the rheumatic fever that had left him with a heart murmur. Unable to participate in basketball or football, Rusty took up golf. And never looked back! Playing at Carey Park, the community course, using a very rudimentary set of clubs, Rusty quickly gained skill. Before long, he was playing on the Hutchinson High School golf team, where in 1960 he helped the Salthawks snag a 4-man state title. Rusty went on to win numerous city championships and eventually, a place in the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame (2002).
Rusty was always a good student, which was fortunate, because in a family that had grown to seven kids (sisters Vivian, Sandra, Sheila, Rhonda and Pam, and brother Rick — Kent, the baby of the family having yet to make an appearance), money was scarce . Having secured scholarship help, in 1960 he packed an old steamer trunk and climbed aboard a train for Valparaiso University in Indiana. His love of golf went with him. Still, he took his education seriously, not missing a single class that first semester and making all A's. That single mindedness didn't last. By the end of his junior year, Rusty campaigned — unsuccessfully — to convince his folks that he should stop out and become a golf pro.
This left Rusty with three options upon graduation: get a job (and get drafted), go to law school, or pursue a PhD in political science. He opted for the graduate program at The University of Kansas, becoming a Jayhawk. While there, he was a self-described "unenthusiastic" student. A sports fan, he managed to attend every home basketball game, but none of the football games (preferring to spend those Saturday afternoons on the nearly empty Lawrence Country Club course — golf still being his abiding love).
While Rusty was drifting along, completing his masters in political science, and heading without much conviction for a Ph.D., fate, in the form of a last-minute opening in the math department at Hutchinson High School (HHS), had other plans. Rusty never intended to become a teacher. He had zero education courses, zero teaching credentials, zero experience. But teach he would and did! Thus, chance launched a legendary teaching career that began in 1960 and spanned 54 years. Rusty's first year teaching was rough (pencils in the ceiling rough!), but undeterred he went on to handle courses ranging from college algebra to calculus and trigonometry. In 1978 he was made chair of the HHS Math Department.
Rusty's commitment to mentoring extended beyond the classroom. Marrying his love of teaching and golf, he was soon helping coach the high school golf team. When the head coach, Rusty's friend and mentor Max Hamilton, died, Rusty stepped into that role. For the next 30 years — during which time the Salthawk team qualified for State twenty-six years in a row — he held that position. Rusty was in his element coaching, helping to hone the skills of young people and imparting what he called Life Lessons, as when he encouraged a player to self-report a scoring error that prevented his team from winning a championship. "Reporting the incorrect score kept us from winning," Rusty acknowledged later, "but it also taught a huge lesson about honesty and integrity."
Never one to ration his energies when it came to his passions, Rusty made time in his busy schedule to keep stats for the high school basketball and football teams. It was a labor of love, done strictly behind the scenes. Until it wasn't. In 1969, Rusty picked up a mic. Circumstances compelled, and — once again — Rusty obliged. Thus began his storied career in sports broadcasting. Initially he called games at KWHK Radio, then joined KWBW in l980. What started by chance, like so much in Rusty's life, developed into a decades-spanning career covering games at Hutchinson High School, Hutchinson Community College, and the NJCAA Tournament.
From 1995 through 2019, Rusty served as sports director at Eagle Communications. In 2004 he was named the Kansas Sportscaster of the Year, and in 2005, he won the Hod Humiston Award for excellence in broadcasting from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters. In 2014 Rusty became the first non-player, coach or administrator ever inducted into the Hutchinson Community College Quarterback Club Hall of Fame, in recognition of his unmatched service to Blue Dragon athletics through broadcasting and advocacy.
As he approached his 80th birthday, Rusty cut back on the number of courses he taught, but he vowed to continue in the classroom as long as he was able, regarding teaching time as "the best time of his day." Again it was fate, this time in the form of COVID, that emptied the halls of Hutch High and precipitated his retirement.
In 2023, Rusty garnered one of the state’s highest honors in education when he was inducted into the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame, a tribute to his extraordinary impact in the classroom over five decades. Later that year, Hutchinson High School dedicated Rusty’s Room, a calm space for students to reset emotionally and mentally, fittingly located in the very room where he taught math for most of his 54-year teaching career.
Adversity had one more twist in store for Rusty. Shortly before Christmas in 2022, he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's (ALS), a fatal, degenerative disease. Such a blow might have caused him to retreat into the shadows, hiding as he awaited his body's slow decline and eventual death. But that wasn't Rusty. He was forged of tougher stuff. And stubborn, very stubborn. Instead he confronted ALS head-on and very publicly, determined to continue living and to find joy even now. And while he was at it, he would share his experience, with honesty and humor, so that others coming after might find knowledge and hope supplanting fear.
Then, at the age of 80 and already fighting ALS, Rusty took on a new challenge. He became an author, penning his autobiography, Banana Man. He also provided weekly updates to his many supporters on the "Rally for Rusty Hilst" facebook page. There, over the next two years he shared his philosophy, his concerns, his hopes and fears. He was transparent about the reality of his ALS ("globs of mucous" included), not glossing over the losses, but never bitter or despairing. Even as the disease stole his ability to walk, talk, swallow, even stand, Rusty continued ferreting out the joy that remained. This was Rusty in his element, caring and sharing. Teaching.
At least one of Rusty's friends considered this his crowning achievement. "Rusty was a multi-talented individual that touched so very many lives, and this most recent episode of sharing the ALS journey might be his best work. No question calling a national championship or state title, or coaching golf, or teaching young kids to have AHA moments when doing their math, that was all stuff that Rusty did quite well. But the courage to share his story with truth, humility, humor and wit may help many more families deal with ALS in the future. Thank you Rusty for a life well-lived and for sharing with family, friends and fans."
What's Missing Here
Where do we leave off chronicling Rusty's life interests and accomplishments? There is always more... We haven't discussed the seven city golf tournaments he won. Or the golf scoreboards he maintained. Haven't even touched upon his abiding love for Prairie Dunes Country Club, which he regarded as his second home, and where he golfed, won and administered tournaments, and served on the influential greens committee. Nor have we mentioned his actual home (the only home he ever owned and lived in), with the drab back yard he transformed into a oasis featured on garden tours. Or his beloved koi.
Another omission? Rusty's lighter side. His orneriness. How he once sewed up a friend's sleeves to make him late for class, and collaborated in devising an April Fools fake quiz. His humor. How he vowed never to act his age and role-played exotic characters to make math fun. Even his stubbornness. Who else would walk fifty miles home after being left in the countryside, rather than ask for a ride? But if you want to discover that Rusty, alive with quirks and foibles, you can find him in the pages of his autobiography Banana Man, available on Amazon. On the other hand, if you or someone you knows struggles with ALS or other debilitating disease, go directly to the "Rally for Rusty Hilst" facebook pages, where you will find insights, compassion and a community of kindred spirits.
Rusty's Funeral
Rusty lived a life of passion and purpose. And many were inspired by him to similarly become an educator...a golf coach...a radio DJ...or simply a better person, emulating the kind, thoughtful way he encouraged folks and treated them with patience and understanding.
Memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 407 E 12th, Hutchinson. Friends may sign the book 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Elliott Mortuary.
Click here to view the memorial service for Mr. Hilst.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Central Links Golf or HHS Alumni Association, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.