David Eliot Rusch

Obituary for David Eliot Rusch

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of David Eliot Rusch. He died peacefully, after a long illness, on October 29th 2025 at the age of 48.

David was born March 15, 1977 and raised in Los Altos, California. His maternity nurse said that he was “a fighter.” He was a precocious child who began walking at 9 months and was talking in full sentences at 15 months. He suffered from asthma, which was aggravated by the high pollen counts. As a child he learned to play the violin, loved performing, and music became the focus of his life. He also loved the natural world and would catch bees with his bare hands and put them in plastic bags. He attended school in Los Altos where he found a dog named “Rocky” who was his friend.

In 1985 the family moved to Palos Verdes Estates and he found another “Rocky”. His asthma improved greatly. He attended schools in Palos Verdes and Verde Valley, Arizona. He was fluent in French, studied Japanese and other languages. He graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2001 with a B.A. in Psychology.

He worked as an IT Specialist for a year at Inmarsat and ComDev near London, England, but he returned home to the burst of the Dot Com Bubble. He eventually decided that music was his art and pursued his dream of being a Heavy Metal Rock Musician. In addition to violin, he played viola, guitar, drums, and sang vocals. He formed the “Cult of Skulls” band, which played gigs throughout Los Angeles. He composed and performed music as Dave Rush with great enthusiasm and joy for several years. He felt deep affection for Los Angeles and traveled throughout the city on foot, by bus, and his own car.

In 2013 he returned to his parent’s home where he lived until his death. He was not yet married. He enjoyed our movie collection and watched those movies and all foreign language films in their native language every day. He was a devoted reader of WWII history, and he loved Dante, Musashi, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, and the Bible. He provided comfort to friends and relatives. He loved food preparation including salads, pasta, and bratwurst sausages. Life was a great adventure for him, and he was always dramatic in his enthusiasm.

David is survived by his parents, Leila and Roger Rusch, his half-brother, Steven Rusch, niece Celia and nephew Cameron, his brother Paul Rusch and sister-in-law Joanna Oyzon and niece Gwendolyn, his sister Katherine Rusch and brother-in-law Augusto Ferrer.

We will see him in heaven. He will live forever in our hearts.