Tribute to Manley

Editor’s Note:

It is with profound sadness that I write this note to accompany the obituary for Manley Leon Rusho, written by his daughter, Cindy Hagemann.

We all knew this time would come and yet we hoped it would not be this year. I first met Manley wearing my Thousand Islands Land Trust hat. On many afternoons we would meet on a tour of Grindstone Island with Ken Deedy or on the deck at the Glass House, where Liz and Zell Stever were hosts. Then one day in August 2021, Cindy contacted me and said her dad wanted to share some of his memories of growing up on Grindstone with our Thousand Islands Life readers. Of course, I was thrilled and with a very big smile, wrote on the first article:

“Editor's Note: Manley Rusho now lives in Florida year-round. Fortunately, he has started to write about his life on Grindstone Island and the St. Lawrence River. His daughter, Cindy Rusho Hagemann, suggested he share some of his writing with TI Life, and this Editor is most grateful! The first piece describes this iconic photograph taken by Les Corbin. What a gift Les gave to the River through his photographs, and what a gift Manley is giving us now, with his memories!”

This past Christmas when we published his 34th article, "The Blue Boat" I wrote,

“We know Manley has moved south and is now in a residence where we are sure his fellow mates are enjoying his stories as much as we do. As always, we thank you sir, most sincerely, for sharing.”

Yes, thanks Manley, for recording so many memories – and now you are up there – above our River, please give a hug to Ken and Zell from us all – Grindstone’s loss is heaven’s gain.

Manley Leon Rusho (93), passed away peacefully on January 25, 2025, in Lake Mary, FL. He was born on a farm on Grindstone Island, NY (one of the Thousand Islands located on the St. Lawrence River between NY and ON) on April 25, 1931. Named after his paternal grandfather, he was the oldest child of Leon M. and Marjorie (Dano) Rusho. Manley attended the Lower School (a one-room schoolhouse) on the island and then attended and graduated from Clayton Central School in Clayton, NY, as the valedictorian.

He was awarded a college scholarship to Cornell University, but he attended for only a year, because he admits that he didn’t apply himself and was too homesick. After coming back home, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where after boot camp, he was sent off to fight in the Korean War. He was always very proud of his service as a Marine, although he rarely talked about what he endured in the war. Many years later, he was invited to go to Washington, D.C. as an Honor Flight guest with his youngest grandson as his escort. Manley was so honored to have this experience and spoke of it fondly.

Growing up on an island, Manley learned to respect and to navigate the St. Lawrence River at an early age. Long before GPS was available, he was taught as a young boy how to read a compass and use a pocket watch for tracking the time to travel back and forth from the island to the mainland, especially in bad weather. He taught his family members and many others how to pilot a boat, to navigate the River, and to respect nature. He was a true River Rat, as they are referred to in the Thousand Islands. Hunting and fishing were part of survival during his early days; he especially loved fishing, and it became a favorite pastime of his for his entire life. He knew all the best fishing spots around Grindstone Island, too.

After his time in the Marines, he returned to Clayton, NY, where he met and married a local girl, Mary Lou Nunn, in 1955. Manley began working for New York Bell as a lineman and cable splicer, and they made their home in Alexandria Bay, NY, and began raising their four daughters. In 1969, Manley accepted a job transfer to Sanford, FL to work for Southern Bell (AT&T).

Education was important to Manley and Mary Lou; they both attended Rollins College, in Winter Park, FL, in the evenings to obtain their degrees. During this busy time, they both worked full-time jobs, while attending college, and also raising their family. In 1974, they both graduated from Rollins, he obtained a master’s degree in history, and she obtained a bachelor’s in elementary education. Mary Lou then started her long teaching career at an elementary school.

The family attended the Upsala Presbyterian Church in Sanford, FL for many years, where Manley was a deacon and a youth leader. He often planned youth camping and rafting trips to the different springs around the state.

After Manley retired from Southern Bell/AT&T, he started his own business working in the Midwest laying cable for telephone and future internet services. He then took his favorite job of being a college educational instructor teaching history onboard US Naval ships. With this job, he was able to see the world from different ports at no cost to him. He was on board a ship in the Middle East when the Gulf War broke out and he was quickly dropped at a nearby port with other civilians on the ship and flown home. He often spoke of Turkey being his favorite country to visit.

Manley and Mary Lou were both world travelers. Traveling for them included meeting new people and making them lifelong friends, as well as experiencing new cultures and enjoying the beauty of the world. On a favorite summer vacation, they rented a canal boat and floated all over England, visiting villages along the English countryside.

Manley started a hobby of making wooden duck decoys, shore birds, owls, and fish in the early 1980s, a craft he learned as a young boy from an uncle. His distinct primitive design-style attracted people to collect his various wooden creations. He set up a workshop at his home in Florida and at his place on Grindstone and called them his “Duck Works.”

About this same time, he started buying and selling antique guns. He loved setting up booths at gun shows and meeting people who bought his carved birds or antique guns. He continued to attend gun shows right up to 2024.

In the 1980s, Manley and Mary Lou started to purchase small homes in Florida. They renovated the homes and either sold them for a profit or used them as a rental property. They did this long before people were flipping homes. One home they purchased in Debary, FL, came with a goat living inside! The house was forever known as the “goat house.”

In 1990, Manley purchased 75 acres on Grindstone Island, NY, his beloved childhood home and built a family compound for summer adventures for their entire family. Manley and Mary Lou built a cottage with their own hands and then added a small guest cottage on the property. They also bought and renovated the abandoned Lower Schoolhouse, where Manley was once a student. They worked tirelessly on the schoolhouse to save it from further deterioration and used it for many years as a guest cottage.

For almost thirty years, that property on Grindstone Island was a main source of summer fun, memories, and entertainment for the family. Manley and Mary Lou generously shared the property with their family and friends all summer long. Everyone wanted to be on the island, and summer vacations were planned months in the advance to be there for the island events and special family time. Manley would drop everything when his grandchildren visited, to take them fishing, build another tree house, or help repair a broken-down lawn tractor. He bought several old riding lawn mowers, removed the mowing decks and they became a source of entertainment and transportation for the various children visiting the property. His children and grandchildren all have amazing memories of their summers on Grindstone Island, where they were taught life skills such as gardening, fishing, kayaking, camping, carving wooden birds and fish, hunting, how to pilot a boat, how to drive a stick-shift car, and a tractor.

Additionally, Manley and Mary Lou were both very involved in the busy summer social scene on the island, which included the Grindstone Island Heritage Center and Grindstone Island Church. Manley became the official history tour guide of Grindstone Island and even purchased a small used school bus to give tours and to pick up islanders for church every Sunday. He also cared for the Civil War cemetery on the island, by cleaning the headstones, mowing, and putting out American flags on Memorial Day each year. His knowledge of the island and the St. Lawrence River was unmatched and his ability to recall stories and history was admired by everyone.

Manley started the Men’s Coffee Club on the island, where many of the men would meet at Chester Taylor’s barn for early morning coffee and solve all the world’s problems. It wasn’t long before Mary Lou wanted a Ladies Coffee Club and she created that weekly island event as well.

Manley had a green thumb and could grow just about anything. He grew vegetables with his kids and grandchildren, and as he aged, he grew beautiful flowers in his yard. He built (at age 89) an outdoor irrigation system in his yard to make it easier to water his vast flower garden.

Unfortunately, in 2008, Mary Lou was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died shortly after her diagnosis. Manley and his family continued to go to the island each summer, but it was never the same without Mary Lou. In 2019, the property on the island was sold to the Thousand Islands Land Trust and the schoolhouse was sold to the Heritage Center and made into the Grindstone Island Heritage Museum. His beloved 75 acres on Grindstone Island is now a land preserve, just as he wanted it to be – returned to nature. And the schoolhouse that he preserved is now allowing others to learn about the history of his beloved island.

Despite several health issues, including the amputation of his right leg due to an infection, Manley continued to live on his own and remain independent until the end of 2023. It became apparent that he needed additional assistance, so he reluctantly moved into an assisted living facility in Lake Mary, FL. Once he adjusted to the move, he enjoyed living there in his own apartment, made friends, enjoyed the caring staff, and often ventured out to have breakfast with his friends at IHOP. He also enjoyed spending his time reading, watching old movies, researching online, buying things on Amazon, and going on Facebook to catch up with his family and friends.

A couple of years ago, Manley celebrated his 90th Birthday with an honor guard from the U.S. Marine Corps. A family friend arranged the surprise visit of the active-duty Marines at the party and Manley was truly honored to be the recipient of this grand gesture.

In 2021, at the age of 90, he began writing stories about his unique life and childhood adventures of growing up on an island. He was quite a gifted writer, and he has had 34 of his short stories published in a monthly online publication, Thousand Islands Life Magazine. Manley enjoyed reading responses, comments, letters, and emails from people who read his stories. It is his wish that his collection of stories be put into a book and his family will make sure that it gets done. Read some of his stories: www.thousandislandslife.com/author/manley/
Manley was a lifelong member of: Rotary Club; American Legion; VFW; 70-year member of the Masons; and Telephone Pioneer Club.

Anyone who met Manley figured out quickly that he was quite a character who lived life to the fullest. He will be remembered for his quick wit, sense of humor, and positive attitude about life. Even at the end of his life, when someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “Never been better.” He could fix just about anything and often helped others in need. His children and grandchildren will forever remember the wisdom and life lessons he taught them. He was an avid reader until recently when his eyesight failed, and he could speak about many interesting topics and adventures. His mind remained very sharp up to the end, and his recall of life events was uncanny.

Manley was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 53 years Mary Lou Nunn Rusho; his daughter Sheryl Rusho Mokris; and great-granddaughter Eleanor. Manley is survived by his daughters Susan (Andy) Greenberg; Cindy (Jon) Hagemann; Cathy (Rob) Reed; 16 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; siblings Milton, Robert, Leon (Junior) Rusho, and Alice Peron, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The family plans to host a celebration of life for Manley in the summer of 2025 in the Thousand Islands area, when he will be laid to rest with military honors next to his wife and daughter.

Donations in memory of Manley L. Rusho may be to made to the Grindstone Island Church (Capital Campaign) or Grindstone Island Heritage Museum.

By Cindy Hagemann

Cindy Rusho Hagemann was born in Alexandria Bay, NY to Manley and Mary Lou Rusho - she is the third of their four daughters. The family moved to Sanford, Florida in 1969 where she grew up, but was still lucky to spend her summers on Grindstone Island with her grandparents. Cindy has been married to USN Commander (Ret) Jon Hagemann for 38 years and they have four grown children and three grandchildren. They live in the mountains of Tennessee on a hobby farm with alpacas, goats, pigs, dogs, and chickens. Cindy is a marketing professional and serves on the board of the Grindstone Island Church and is a committee member of the Grindstone Island Heritage Museum. Cindy began helping her father edit his life stories in 2020 and in 2021 started sending them to the Thousand Islands Life Magazine. Manley loved writing and sharing his stories, together they spent countless hours working on the stories, discussing the events and excited when a photo could be found in the family archives that would go with a particular story. Cindy stated, "I feel so fortunate to have had this time with my father, it was an honor and a privilege to bring his stories to life for future river generations to enjoy".

Complete list of all Manley R. Rusho articles in TI Life.