Roy A. Rust - Rest in Peace.

I first met Roy online here in 2016 and found him to be very friendly and helpful. It was not long until we exchanged emails and communicated that way exclusively many times daily.

Yesterday (July 9th) I got an email from Roy's daughter:

Dear friends (and family) of Roy,

It is with a broken heart that I write to tell you that Roy passed away on Wednesday, July 3rd. He would have been 79 years old on July 28th.

Kevin and I hadn’t heard from him for a couple days, which wasn’t unusual, but when we were unable to reach him, and went to check on him, he was found dead in his home. We do not have a report on the cause yet, but we feel it happened quickly and he did not suffer.

Thank you all for caring about him. Thank you for being his friend, for emailing to check in, to drop off a meal, or help with a project. Thank you for listening to his stories and for commenting on the millionth picture of the stars he sent you How I would love another star picture...

He was an incredible man- smart, generous and kind. I am certain we all learned something from him.

I am sorry for your loss, and for ours.

Angela and Kevin (his kids)

I will miss him greatly. He was so helpful to me on many different areas, and just plain generous with his time in looking up help for me when I was not able to find what I needed.

He was also a woodworker sharing photos of objects he made at home, and they were wonderfully made!

So sorry to read this sad news.
Thank you for posting here. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

EDIT
Roy's POTN Gallery if images;
https://photography-on-the.net …embergallery.ph​p?m=414496

Some examples;

Hosted photo: posted by Roy A. Rust in
./showthread.php?p=187​99273&i=i27295882
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Hosted photo: posted by Roy A. Rust in
./showthread.php?p=188​44941&i=i144685959
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Hosted photo: posted by Roy A. Rust in
./showthread.php?p=186​49352&i=i57097706
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Hosted photo: posted by Roy A. Rust in
./showthread.php?p=185​53269&i=i142311985
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Hosted photo: posted by Roy A. Rust in
./showthread.php?p=185​50272&i=i89971486
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Thank you Jake. He was a very good friend to me.

Very sad news. May he RIP.

RIP

RIP Roy , may God be with the family .

All,

This is Roy A Rust's son, Kevin. I hope this community knows what you all meant to my father. He found opportunities to share his experiences and share in your experiences daily. He made friends with many of you and that made him feel like a part of something. It was something that he had a passion for, photography and helping others.

My father was a teacher to me from the beginning. He was a teacher to a reluctant student. He has made me a better person in so many ways. He taught me an appreciation for the stars, for Photoshop, for woodworking, for photography, for patience in doing something well. I admired this man in many ways that he would never either accept or acknowledge. My wife affectionately calls me Resourceful Rust, which is only possible because of my Dad who could fix anything. I wrecked my car and broke an axle on a slippery neighborhood street - he rigged a pulley to bend the axle (or parts within) back into place, he walked me through replacing a 3-prong outlet wire on the back of a dryer, which I promptly blew the end of the screwdriver off due to me not knowing there was a breaker box outside to turn off, he was there to help me build a double-decker tree house for my kids at 77 years old in my backyard which his grand kids love so much, he helped me replace a motor on an AC unit in the rain over the phone and countless other things. He was my easy button, because he simply knew how to fix almost everything and if he didn't, he would figure it out. When I pushed this 'easy button' he imparted his resourcefulness upon me which has made me who I am today. I am forever grateful for that.

He was humble in every way.

He was a tremendous teacher and kind heart.

He enjoyed this forum so much. He loved the feedback on his pictures and your pictures that made him work harder to shoot the perfect crab nebula, dove from his front yard, or anything else that crossed his path.

I loved that man and he is dearly missed by our family. Hug your Dad or loved one and don't hold back any emotion because tomorrow is a day that they might not be there to share in your affection.

A grateful son,

Kevin J Rust

MMMKrust wrote in post #18895010
All,

This is Roy A Rust's son, Kevin. I hope this community knows what you all meant to my father. He found opportunities to share his experiences and share in your experiences daily. He made friends with many of you and that made him feel like a part of something. It was something that he had a passion for, photography and helping others.

My father was a teacher to me from the beginning. He was a teacher to a reluctant student. He has made me a better person in so many ways. He taught me an appreciation for the stars, for Photoshop, for woodworking, for photography, for patience in doing something well. I admired this man in many ways that he would never either accept or acknowledge. My wife affectionately calls me Resourceful Rust, which is only possible because of my Dad who could fix anything. I wrecked my car and broke an axle on a slippery neighborhood street - he rigged a pulley to bend the axle (or parts within) back into place, he walked me through replacing a 3-prong outlet wire on the back of a dryer, which I promptly blew the end of the screwdriver off due to me not knowing there was a breaker box outside to turn off, he was there to help me build a double-decker tree house for my kids at 77 years old in my backyard which his grand kids love so much, he helped me replace a motor on an AC unit in the rain over the phone and countless other things. He was my easy button, because he simply knew how to fix almost everything and if he didn't, he would figure it out. When I pushed this 'easy button' he imparted his resourcefulness upon me which has made me who I am today. I am forever grateful for that.

He was humble in every way.

He was a tremendous teacher and kind heart.

He enjoyed this forum so much. He loved the feedback on his pictures and your pictures that made him work harder to shoot the perfect crab nebula, dove from his front yard, or anything else that crossed his path.

I loved that man and he is dearly missed by our family. Hug your Dad or loved one and don't hold back any emotion because tomorrow is a day that they might not be there to share in your affection.

A grateful son,

Kevin J Rust

Hosted photo: posted by MMMKrust in
./showthread.php?p=188​95010&i=i191618482
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Hosted photo: posted by MMMKrust in
./showthread.php?p=188​95010&i=i133748358
forum: Astronomy & Celestial

Kevin,

Thank you so very much for coming online and joining POTN to post this message about your father.

What a wonderful relationship you had with your father. He indeed was a wonderful man and father to you and your sister Angela as well as wonderful grandfather to your children and Angela's children.

What a wonderful tribute you did for your father in posting this here today.

Very touched that you took the time and had the strength to post here about your dad. Thanks.

MMMKrust wrote in post #18895010
Hug your Dad or loved one and don't hold back any emotion because tomorrow is a day that they might not be there to share in your affection.

A huge statement. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for your post Kevin , God Bless !

Thank you so much for sharing your tribute with us. Roy sounds a lot like my father in so many ways.
So sorry for you and your families loss.

He will be missed here as well.

Dear POTN friends,

This is Angela, Roy's daughter. Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 79 years old. I wanted to thank all of you for being his friends and supporters. He got so much joy out of sharing images with you, reading comments, tracking "likes," helping some and learning from others. He was an absolutely incredible person. He could do anything, fix anything, and seemed to know everything. He was always there for me and always had the answer. He is missed terribly. It is still not real...

Attached are picture of our last birthday celebration with him on the lake in Broken Bow, Oklahoma where he loved to take astronomy photos. I don't know if he posted pictures of his boat when he "lived down range" but in these pictures, he is truly in his element! Back on a boat, camera around his neck, surrounded by 4 grand babies that adored him. It was a fantastic day. The pictures of the birds are his last photos, taken on July 2nd.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. I wish you were here to tell me how to fix this broken heart. I don't know how to do this. I miss you. I love you. We all do.

Angela

I couldn't figure out how to get more than 2 images to load into the thread. Here are the last images taken by your friend, Roy A. Rust:

Very nice images , thanks for posting .