Kay M. Rusche

10/17/1950 — 2/22/2017

Service Date: 3/4/2017
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Dr. Kay Miller Rusche ended her seven-year battle with ovarian cancer at home with her family. She was 66 years old.

Kay was born to Lois and Earl "Red" Miller and lived until age 5 in Orofino and Culdesac, where her father taught and served as superintendent. The family then moved to Berkeley, Calif., while her father pursued his doctorate. After several short stops around the Bay Area, the Millers settled in Mill Valley in Marin County, Calif. Kay graduated from high school there and then attended the University of California San Diego, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 1972. She worked for a year at the Scripps Institute and entered medical school the next year.

Kay was a stellar student at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and graduated in 1977 with Alpha Omega Alpha honors. Her husband, John Rusche, was a classmate, and they were married in St. Louis on Sept. 11, 1976. Washington University was - and is - known as a research school, and Kay was encouraged to specialize. Thankfully, she realized the gifts she had were best used in family practice. Her partners and patients are grateful for her decision.

After medical school, Kay and John were resident physicians at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where they learned a lot about medicine and Southwestern culture. The Rusches arrived in Lewiston in 1980. They bought a house with a great view of the confluence, and the yard and the house were dearly loved and tended well by Kay.

Caitlin arrived in 1985, and Kay responded by modifying her practice to stop obstetrics. She knew that being on call for a delivery (and having a husband on call as well) was not conducive to having an infant. Caitlin remembers doing hospital rounds with her mom.

Many of her patients showed gratitude for her manner and care, from potholders to scarves, from laudatory newspaper columns to plants for her garden - and one very special birdhouse condominium. Gardening, especially roses, occupied her free time. John always said it was good that one of them enjoyed it. She also was an avid reader, and especially enjoyed the camaraderie of her book club.

Her major joy, however, was her practice, her patients and their families. She had a special interest in developmentally delayed adults, in helping them and their families. There was no stronger advocate for those "other-abled" individuals. During the course of her medical career she also served as the Tri-State Memorial Hospital chief of staff, on several St. Joseph's medical staff committees, on the Board of Valley Medical Center, as the president of the Idaho Academy of Family Practice, and as a volunteer physician at the Snake River Community Free Clinic. She also was involved in numerous community organizations, including the Lewis-Clark State College Foundation Board, the Girls Club, as the Twin County United Way campaign chairwoman in 2000, the Tsceminicum Club, and Friends of the Lewiston Library.

Her ovarian cancer slowed her down only slightly, and she returned to full-time practice after each surgery or chemotherapy course until she retired from Valley Medical Center Family Practice in May 2015 after 35 years of practice.

She is survived by Dr. John Rusche, her spouse, daughter Caitlin Rusche and Lois Miller, her mother. Her kind and gentle heart will be missed by thousands of patients and families in our community.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at CrossPoint Alliance Church, 1330 Powers Ave., Lewiston. A celebration of her life of giving is being planned for later this spring. In lieu of flowers, Kay would have encouraged a donation to the Snake River Community Clinic, 215 10th St., in Lewiston.