James Todd Rusk

James Todd Rusk of Berthoud, Colorado, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 12, 1966 to Joseph and Barbara (Jones) Rusk, and passed away unexpectedly while working on a project in Texas on December 2, 2016 at the age of 50. He was born the youngest of three children and spent his early childhood living in various places, including Estes Park, Hawaii and American Samoa before settling in East Tennessee where he finished out his middle and high school years.Upon graduation from high school, James and a high school friend, Chip, headed west to the mountains of Colorado where he lived and worked in Vail for two years. He then moved to Denver in 1986 and started school at Mile High College where he studied court reporting. James worked as a court reporter with his father in Grand Junction, his brother in Knoxville, and then moved to Berthoud and worked for various court reporting firms before starting his own. James always had a passion for construction and working with his hands and which led to him starting his own residential homebuilding company. This extended into the commercial construction industry where he spent the last several years as an Installation Coordinator/Project Manager for HayneCo, Inc.James met the love of his life, Brenda (Miller) Rusk, while attending school in 1986 and they married on September 3, 1989. James and Brenda worked side-by-side both in court reporting and in the construction field and were best friends, inseparable partners and had a true, unwavering love for one another.James and Brenda were blessed with two beautiful daughters, Jacquelyn and Madison Rusk. His girls were his pride and joy and he loved the time he spent with them teaching them his love for all things outdoors.When not working, James could always be found chasing his love of the outdoors, whether it be fishing, hunting, hiking, kayaking/rafting countless rivers, snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, and was especially proud of successfully racing in and completing the grueling Leadville 100-mile Mountain Biking Race with his father (J ), step-brother (Seth), and dear friend (Fred).James is survived by his devoted wife, Brenda Rusk, daughters Jacquelyn and Madison Rusk, grandson Aiden Coluzzi , father Joseph Rusk (Esther), mother Barbara Rusk, brother Jeff Rusk (Kelly), sister Pamela Block (Ric), stepbrothers Joppa and Seth Smith, brothers and sisters-in-law Brett (Evelyn) and Burt (Kim) Miller, favorite mother-in-law, Judy Miller, ten nieces and nephews and two great-nieces.James was preceded in death by his grandparents and his best friend and father-in-law, Norman Dean Miller.Visitation will be held 4:00-6:00 PM, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Niwot with family present to greet friends. Funeral Service 11:00 AM, Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Niwot. Interment in Foothills Gardens of Memory cemetery, Longmont. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to share condolences.