Nadine Rusk

Nadine D. Rusk, 72, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family in Missoula, MT, on November 5, 2025, after a long battle with progressive supranuclear palsy that she fought with courage and dignity.

Nadine was born in 1952 in Great Falls to parents Emmett and Eva June Andersen and grew up in Simms alongside her four older brothers.While growing up in Simms she had a menagerie of animals (including a fox and a raccoon) and that continued throughout her life. She did 4-H in high school before obtaining an education degree from Briercrest College in Saskatchewan. After college she moved to Missoula and began building her life.

While working at Champion Plywood in 1975, she met Robert “Bob” Rusk and the two were married in December of 1977. They planted their roots in Missoula and set their eyes toward starting their family.

After her children were born, Nadine spent years as a dedicated stay-at-home mother, where she exercised her love of crafts by hand-making Halloween costumes and baking delicious treats with her children. She loved Christmas and she and Bob always made many platters of cookies to deliver to neighbors and family members.

When she was ready to return to the workforce, she became the toy warehouse manager at Best Products where she delighted her children by introducing them to the scratch-and-dent room. She followed that with a career at First Interstate Bank and finished out her working years as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. Retirement came on her 62nd birthday and she and Bob were able to start experiencing life full time.

She spent her life searching for adventure in whatever form it could take. She loved riding motorcycles with her husband; the two took frequent trips in Montana and Idaho as well as several trips to Sturgis to gather with other riders. Nadine made sure to take her family on a vacation every year and loved spending weekends at the cabin. She constantly looked for new things to do and try, and whether those things were a road trip or a craft fair, she refused to be bored.

Always quick with a witty joke, she filled every room with warmth and laughter and she could find a friend in anyone. She was intelligent and kind and fiercely protective of her family. She adored doting on her grandkids and was always excited to play with them and their new toys on Christmas morning.

Nadine cared deeply for her family as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her husband, Robert; her daughter Christi (Ralph and children Kaylin, Sullivan “Lith,” Alex, Zoe, Chloe, Makenna) Dempsey; her son Jason (Precyle and children Citlali and Nolan) Rusk; her brothers Vernon, Vic, and Jack and their families. She is preceded in death by her parents Emmett and Eva June Andersen and her brother Dennis and his wife Patricia Andersen.

She has been cremated and there are no services planned. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to Missoula Aging Services or AniMeals.