Rusch in Winter
The twilight of Rusch’s years are highlighted in Chapter 8, beginning with distinguishing honors Rusch received during the 1970s. Rusch’s health became increasingly frail as KEEP confronted various crises. The Kiyosato Farm School closed for lack of applicants, the consequence of a changing Japanese economy. There was scandal at KEEP, as Ryo Natori was accused of misappropriating funds sent from America. Then cancer began to cast a shadow over Rusch’s life, as his dearest friend, Karl Branstad, succumbed to the disease. The ailment also took the life of three of Rusch’s other protégés at KEEP, most painfully Ryo Natori, who passed away from liver cancer. Because Rusch was unable to travel and raise money owing to his ill health, the prospects for KEEP looked grim until Eli Lilly Jr. bequeathed over $2 million in Lilly stock to KEEP. Rusch died of cancer at the age of seventy-nine at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo.
