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 Yes, I still called him either Mr. Rucks or Coach. He was my
sixth grade teacher, and as a man who really towered over his
students I had the upmost respect for him. I fondly recall in sixth
grade how he kept a yard stick by his desk and when his back itched,
well he scratched it with that 3 foot piece of lumber. More than
likely it was one of those heavy yardsticks that Stahl's Furniture
of Mount Pulaski used to give away to customers.
I also recall how he would keep a bath towel in his desk drawer for
wiping the sweat from his brow, even in the winter time. As I
approached Janet and Kristin in the receiving line Sunday I
mentioned these two stories and we shared a laugh. Janet also noted
that Mr. Rucks' brothers all carry towels and she even pointed to
her towel resting on the chair. I told her that I, too, carry a
sweat towel everyday on my mail route. Guess Mr. Rucks was
influencing me way back then and I didn't even realize it.
However, in the classroom I definitely noticed his influence. When
he told us kids to "Like get out a pencil, like get out a piece of
paper and like number one to ten," we knew that meant pop quiz and
no ifs, ands or butts about it.
And if you truly ever had a conversation with Mr. Rucks you would
know he put the word "like" in front of everything.
 Before I took up too much time in the receiving line, I had to ask
Janet about the year they came to Mount Pulaski and why did they
stay all these years? She said it was the fall of 1976 when he took
a teaching job here and he just loved it. He simply loved the
community and never wanted to leave, she told me. She even glanced
over at his family that filled a good section of the bleachers and
noted that she thought someday they would go back to the Chicago
area to be near his family. Shaking her head no, she again
emphasized that he truly loved the Mount Pulaski community and the
students here and wanted to stay.
Another huge reason to stay was a man named Ed Butkovich. Janet even
imitated Coach B's famous voice as she recalled the moment when "Ed
told Bill he was going to need an assistant coach." In fact, Mr.
Rucks began as the freshman boys basketball coach and as an
assistant for the Toppers varsity squad. He had just missed the
Toppers state championship season of 1976, but he was able to share
in the special moments at the Assembly Hall in Champaign with Coach
Butkovich as the team placed fourth in state in 1977. Both Janet and
Kristin agreed that these two men shared a special bond and "Bill
would have stayed Ed's assistant all his life." Some bonds just
cannot be broken as you will understand later.
On Monday the memorial service for Mr. Rucks was held back at the Ed
Butkovich gymnasium. Greg Taylor, whose son Peyton was a varsity
starter on the Toppers basketball team this past year as a freshman,
officiated the beautiful service.
Taylor shared stories as well as highlighted "Three Ps" about the
beloved husband, father, brother, uncle, teacher, coach, mentor and
friend. Those "Three P's" were Passion, Perseverance and Priorities.
Mr. Rucks' passions included teaching, coaching, golf, basketball,
the Fighting Illini, the Chicago Cubs and reading. These are not
necessarily in any order, just to the best of my recollection and I
am sure I left out something but I was caught up in the magnificent
words Taylor spoke.
The perseverance that Taylor talked about had to do with Mr. Rucks'
ability to bounce back from an illness that left him unable to walk.
Despite the setback, Mr. Rucks continued to battle and move forward
with his life, with tremendous support from Janet and Kristin. Those
two were his priorities. He loved those two with all his heart.
Passion, Perseverance and Priorities. Well done, Greg.
Taylor also noted how the music played at the service was near and
dear to Mr. Rucks' heart. Mr. Rucks loved "Amazing Grace" by Alan
Jackson and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" by Dolly Parton. Both songs
bringing tears and smiles to the crowd.
 Also bringing tears and smiles were the eulogies by Pat Walsh and
Deron Powell. Both men were members of the 1984 Toppers team that
placed second in state, as well as friends of Bill, as they called
him.
Walsh spoke first and he was dynamite. He relayed golf stories from
family trips to Disney, one of Bill's favorite places, and had the
crowd chuckling. As a long-time referee and driver's education
teacher, Walsh also shared some of those private moments between him
and Bill on and off the basketball court and golf course. It was
evident these two could tease each other and love every minute of
it.
Walsh did get a little emotional when he talked of Bill's "heart of
gold" and spoke of him as a "gentle giant" of a man.
In true professional fashion and in a moment that would make Bill
proud, Walsh bounced back and relayed a hilarious story of when Bill
called him frantically in a state of emergency and asked him to come
quick to the house one afternoon. Walsh rushed over from the high
school across the street to find that Bill had run into the corner
cabinet in the kitchen with his motorized wheelchair. The cabinet
was hanging off the wall and Bill asked Walsh if he could fix
it...before Janet came back home. Walsh asked him how long they had
and his answer was "thirty minutes." Quickly gathering tools, Walsh
was successful in fixing the cabinet and Mr. Rucks apparently
suffered no damage from Janet.
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Walsh concluded his speech with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, "In
the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life
in your years." Those words certainly ring true as Mr. Rucks left
this earth just after 61 years, but the legacy he left will live on
forever.
Deron Powell, local State Farm agent and huge supporter of the youth
in our community, also gave a sensational eulogy. Powell was
particularly proud of his children having Bill as a teacher. He
recalled a parent-teacher conference where he knew he and his wife
Kristi would get a good report on their daughter, Haley, however as
they left the classroom following the visit, Kristi had to ask Deron,
"What did he say?"
Mr. Rucks could be a little hard to understand at first. But he
always cared for each and every student and that was true in and out
of the classroom.
Powell remembered how son Bowen used to take hunting magazines to
read into the classroom. Although Mr. Rucks was not a hunter he was
always interested in Bowen's passion. Powell said that years later,
"Bill would always ask if Bowen had killed anything lately."
Powell also told a funny story he witnessed at the1984 state
tournament. Following the Toppers upset of Providence St. Mel in the
semi-finals, long-time Lincoln sportswriter Dick Huston was waiting
to interview Coach Butkovich outside the locker room. Bill was
standing nearby when all of a sudden out of the locker popped a very
happy Coach Butkovich. Upon seeing Bill he quickly turned and
surprisingly gave his assistant coach a kiss on the lips. Bill
looked at Powell and said dryly, "I did not initiate that."
Mr. Rucks was known for being funny often without a smile. I can
imagine that at times he was the life of the party. He honestly
enjoyed hanging around local characters like Butkovich, Walsh,
Powell, Steve and Dick Hayes, Frank Buckles, George Blue and Ken
Durst to name a few.
As the service concluded the pallbearers exited the gym to another
one of Mr. Rucks' favorite tunes, "When the Saints Go Marching In"
and that was followed by the crowd exiting to "Illinois Loyalty."
Mr. Rucks' love of life was evident in every aspect of this
beautiful service, which also included scriptures being read by his
Goddaughter, Brianne Van Hemert.
I took away so many positive things from not only this day but also
from nearly a lifetime of knowing this man. He was intelligent and
funny and never knew a stranger. He loved his family and his dog
Ernie. But I think what I realized even more was how much he truly
loved Ed Butkovich, the community of Mount Pulaski and the students
with all his heart. I never heard him say this, but each and every
day he showed it.
With his Master's Degree in Administration Bill could have went
anywhere, as was noted in the service. He choose to stay in Mount
Pulaski, teaching sixth grade first and later fifth grade, and
coaching basketball and track. Up until the time of his passing he
was an active member of the school board and an assistant basketball
coach for the Toppers.
In fact, all Hilltopper basketball players and managers were
Honorary Pallbearers in addition to the family naming Ed and Pat
Butkovich's two daughters, Julie and Cyndi, Honorary Pallbearers.
Finally, the MPHS Class of 2016 served as Honorary Pallbearers. Come
to find out later, that was the last fifth grade class that Mr.
Rucks taught before his retirement. How fitting. As I finally left
the gym I wondered where Mr. Rucks would be buried in the Mount
Pulaski Cemetery.
Coach Ed Butkovich has a beautiful headstone there in the shape of a
backboard with a basketball reading "Coach" resting on a bench. As I
followed the crowd to the cemetery I did not need to wonder any
more. You see that bond these two men share will never be broken as
the two coaches, and more importantly friends, are buried beside
each other in the Mount Pulaski Cemetery. How perfect.
[Teena Lowery
Author's Note:
I felt compelled to write something following the service and I did
so with the blessing of Janet and Kristin. Mr. Rucks was truly a
"larger than life" figure not just in our community but all around
Illinois. Personally it was a great honor for my children to also
have him as a teacher and coach.
This past season Coach Ryan Diebert presented my son, Michael, with
an autographed basketball on senior night to commemorate him scoring
1,000 career points. All the players and coaches signed the ball and
it meant a lot to Michael at that time. It means more now than ever
as the biggest signature on the sweet spot of the ball says, "Coach
Bill Rucks." As Michael says, "The signature is huge." Well I
wouldn't expect it to be any other way.... after all the man left a
HUGE impact on so many. Thanks, Mr. Rucks!
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