Birth date: Dec 18, 1918 Death date: Jul 23, 2020
Rush E. Choate of Gainesville, Florida, ended his earthly journey and joined his beloved wife, Barbara, on July 23, With Barbara, his cherished wife of 66 years, he visited 49 states in the USA, and made his TV debut at age 100 o Read Obituary
Prof Choate was the first person I met when I visited the Ag Eng Dept more than 60 years ago. He convinced me to go into Ag Eng and became my advisor and later on my mentor as a new faculty member in the Department. I consider him to be one of the most important people in my life and I credit him for my rewarding career in engineering. Direlle Baird.
Video Tribute
Uncle Rush, like his brother (my grandfather) Ray, loved learning. My education was encouraged by Grampa but engineered by Uncle Rush. My first college visit was the University of Florida with Uncle Rush. The seismograph at UF shook me to my 10-year-old core; he patiently gave me all the time I wanted to watch a pen twitch across a roll of paper. College was captivating; I thought I could spend the rest of my life there . . . and I have. When I completed my doctorate, I wanted Uncle Rush to place the hood on me. Sadly, geography, mobility, and ancient academic customs made that impractical.
Another profound gift I received from Uncle Rush was overwhelming kindness and validation. After Aunt Barbara’s funeral he asked if I was married. With some hesitation I told him I had been with my partner, Greg, for 15 years. His kind, gallant, and loving reply was, “Well, that is wonderful. I look forward to meeting him. It is a gift to share your life with someone, like I was able to do with Barbara.”
--Dr. Eli Branscome
Rush had been serving as acting chairman of the Agricultural Engineering Department when I arrived on September 1, 1981 as the newly appointed chairman. I found the department had been running smoothly under his leadership, and he was most helpful to me in making the transition to my new position here. I soon found that all the good things I had heard from Florida graduates about his high reputation as a teacher , counselor of students, and an engineering professional were most certainly true.
Gerald Isaacs
Our Condolences to the family. Evelyn and Jerry Gaffney
Prof mentored me twice - as an undergraduate to the then early BAgE, and later as an early MSE. His counsel was utterly sound, his patience was outstanding, his encouragement was propelling, his enthusiasm was catching, his character was upright. My respect for Prof runs ever so deep. I was happily rewarded by visiting with him in September 2019. Oh, what a man! My regards to Paige and all the family.
Jerry R Lambert
Clemson SC
Since I worked as a faculty member at the Lake Alfred CREC, I did not get to see Rush as much as the faculty on campus. However, I did get to witness his character and influence at the annual Florida ASABE meetings. Particularly at our business meetings when a subject was being discussed/debated, Rush would usually add his comments by reflecting on the historical aspects of the issue and steering the group on the right thing to do. Everyone respected his opinion.
Jodie D. Whitney
Prof. Choate was a mentor to two generations of Kikers in engineering: my father and I. His kind and encouraging words to us as students and professionals are well- remembered and truly appreciated.
