Mary Louise (Cox) Rush

Mary Louise (Cox) Rush, 95, of Portsmouth, died Thursday, October 20, 2022.  Mary was born July 14, 1927, in Portsmouth to the late George and Clara (Walter) Cox.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, William E. Rush; son, Tim Rush; grandson, Jeremy Rush; half-brother, John Foster; a sister, Ruthie Cox; and a half-sister, Cathy Hole.

Mary loved to read, garden, exercise and recite the Rosary daily.  She was a member of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, and CLC, and worked as a Registered Nurse at Mercy Hospital.

She is survived by a son, Michael Rush (Bridgette) of Portsmouth; three daughters, Barbara Kemna (Jim), of Jefferson City, MO; Linda Dean of Portsmouth; and Nancy Schoonover (David) of Summerville, SC.; daughter-in-law, Kathy Rush of West Portsmouth; brother-in-law, David Lee Rush (Betty) of Muncie, IN.  Also surviving Mary are four half-sisters; Ann O’Dowd, Agnes Kroh, Rosie Freeman, and Francis Assimakopoulous; four grandchildren; Beth Baker (Bill), Ryan Rush (Kasey), Claire Mengwasser (Anthony), Sarah Kimble (Scott), nine great-grandchildren; Joshua, Noah, Ava, Bella, Ace, Graham, Rhett, Sam, and Katie, as well as several nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM Friday, October 28, 2022, at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Portsmouth with Rev. Patrick Watikha officiating.  Burial will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery.  Visitation for family and friends will begin at 5:00 PM Thursday, October 27, 2022, at Melcher Hammer Funeral Home in Portsmouth with the Recitation of the Rosary at 7:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s honor to Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 1325 Gallia Street, Portsmouth, OH  45662

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