Patricia Guinan Rushin
Patricia Guinan Rushin of Savannah, Ga., formerly of Peconic, died Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, due to complications following heart surgery. She was 79.
Born to Patricia (Davidson) Guinan and George H. Guinan on Nov. 12, 1942, Mrs. Rushin grew up in Manhattan and Peconic. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan and earned her bachelor’s degree from Maryville College in St. Louis.
After a stint as a buyer at Macy’s in New York, she became a color forecaster and later fashion director at Eastman Chemical Products Inc., a textile industry leader. She attended Paris and London fashion shows, and predicted fashion and color trends for Eastman’s customers. ECPI is also where she met her husband and soulmate, Robert K. Rushin.
Pat and Ken married in 1973, on the lawn of her family home overlooking Little Peconic Bay. This was but one of many milestones celebrated on Indian Neck Lane, in the house where her parents and grandparents had summered since the 1930s. Although they lived in Manhattan, Atlanta, Ga., and St. Simons Island, Ga., through the years, summers were always in Peconic. In 2003, they returned to Peconic as full-time residents. In 2017, they moved south again.
Pat’s lifelong commitment to volunteering began in high school at Bellevue Hospital and continued with her son’s schools, including a period as a school crossing guard at the corner of Madison Avenue and 96th Street. In retirement, she devoted much of her time to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport, where she was a volunteer and a dedicated member of the hospital auxiliary. Her volunteer interests were varied: She worked with Southold Historical Society and served as a court-appointed child advocate, a script reader for the Little Theatre in Alexandria, a dog walker at the Southold Town Animal Shelter, and as a volunteer at the White House in the Office of the President.
More than anything else, Pat devoted her life to her family: husband Ken, son Christopher and Ken’s children, Rob and Elizabeth. She delighted in spending time with her five grandchildren. She adored celebrating Easters and Christmases surrounded by family and possessed a particular genius for always selecting the perfect gift. She was a voracious reader and avid crossword puzzler, with a wicked wit and an extraordinary ability to make everyone around her feel interesting and special. She appreciated kindness, good manners, authenticity and her evening scotch.
She was predeceased by her sister, Pamela Guinan Mottley, and Mary B. Armstead. She is survived by her husband, Robert Kenmore Rushin; son Christopher Rushin of Savannah and his daughter, Catherine; son Robert K. Rushin Jr., of Tallahassee, Fla., his wife, Judy, and their children, Anna and Ben; daughter Elizabeth R. Berger of Weston, Conn., her husband, Roy, and their children, Katherine and William; as well as her niece Mariah Mottley Plumlee.
There will be a family service at a future date at Cutchogue Cemetery.
Donations in her memory may be made to Eastern Long Island Hospital Foundation, 201 Manor Place, Greenport NY 11944.
This is a paid notice.
