Herbert Charles Puscheck

Herb was born on July 14, 1936, in Marshfield, WI to Ella and Herbert Puscheck. They lived in Chili, WI where Herb attended a one-room schoolhouse through 8th grade, and then went to nearby Marshfield for high school. He graduated from Marshfield High School in 1954 and was accepted into the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, graduating in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Engineering. Later he received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University in 1964 in Lafayette, Indiana, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in Operations Research, also at Purdue in 1969.

Herb’s career highlights included:

United States Army Officer (1958 Graduated as 2nd lieutenant and retired as Lieutenant Colonel, LTC in 1978).

Director of Special Studies- Office of Secretary Defense, Washington, 1974-1978;

Professor- National Defense University- Washington, 1979.

Associate Director- Selective Service, System Headquarters- Washington, 1980-1982.

Assistant Chief of Staff-Army Materiel Command, Alexandria, Virginia, 1983-1986.

Army Chair-Defense Systems Management College- Fort Belvoir, Virginia, 1986-1987.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense- Office of Secretary Defense, Washington, 1987-1994.

Professor of Public and International Affairs-George Mason University, Fairfax- 1994-2000. President HBI, Inc.- Alexandria, since 1985.

Authored 2 books and self-published at Rose River Publishing (available on Amazon)

Herb met Betty, the love of his life, in Marshfield WI. At the time, Protestants and Catholics were not encouraged to date or much less marry. And their love story lasted for 63 years. They wed after Betty completed her Physical Therapy Internship in 1959. Shortly afterwards, Herb received orders for his first overseas tour, taking the new couple to Aschaffenburg, Germany. Their first daughter. Elizabeth (“Liz”) was born there. They soon returned to the states in style, on the original RMS Queen Elizabeth cruise ship with his Mercedes car onboard, too. Herb went back to school at Purdue University, earning his Masters, and PhD. During this time, his daughter, Lisa was born.

After Lafayette, the young family moved to Jacksonville Florida during Herb’s 1st deployment to Viet Nam. Their next move was back to Herb’s alma mater where Herb taught at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Herb was deployed the 2nd time in Viet Nam while Betty, Liz, and Lisa moved to Wisconsin to be closer to family support. When he returned, the family moved west to Fort Ord in Monterey, CA where Herb was an Associate Professor for the Navy Management Systems Center at the Naval Postgraduate School. His next assignment at Fort Leavenworth was changed upon arrival and he was redirected to the Armed Forces Staff College, six-month stint in Norfolk, VA. Upon completion, he was assigned to the Pentagon. Herb and his family settled in Alexandria. Herb chose to retire after his 20 years’ service, since both Liz and Lisa were established in their schools, and he did not want to move abroad during their high school years.

Herb received several awards. In 1970 Herb was awarded the Legion of Merit, one of America’s oldest decorations tracing its lineage to the Badge of Military Merit established by Gen. George Washington in 1792. Herb received this award in recognition of exceptionally meritorious performance and outstanding service. It recognizes his achievements as a leader and his ability to carry out the demands and responsibilities of his assignment in the 159th Engineer Group of Vietnam. He also was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and Army Commendation Medal. In 1989 Herb was the recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award President which is the second highest Senior Executive Service award.

Though a man of few words, when Herb spoke you wanted to listen. When he provided his thoughts or input on a topic, it was usually after carefully and logically thinking through various nuances or possible outcomes to a scenario. Herb’s keen mind and curious nature allowed him to think “outside the box”, often seeing solutions to complex and simple problems well before others. He remained pragmatic, calm, and aware of his surroundings until his death. Despite all these health challenges, Herb never complained about his fate. He just worked through things, sometimes requiring great effort. He accepted help but rarely asked for it and used the latest available technologies when possible.

Another example of Herb’s nature was that he loved novel ideas and endeavors. Some of his interests included sailing, fly fishing, hiking, traveling, and writing. Herb learned to sail with military rental boats and then they chartered bare boats and sailed, both locally in the Chesapeake and many places around the world with friends, which was always relaxing and occasionally an unexpected adventure. He loved to fish—initially as a boy with his father and later he took up the challenge of fly-fishing. It was particularly rewarding when the DNR decided to regularly stock trout in the Rose River which is next to our log cabin retreat, Black Bear Cabin. They had many fond memories and experiences at Black Bear Cabin with friends, family and the Epiphany Lutheran youth group. When asked about one of his favorite memories in life, Herb smiled and said it was the 4 month around-the-world cruise he and Betty took which inspired him to share their experiences in his first book (2001): “Virgin Voyage: Lessons Learned Circling the Globe at 15 Knots”. During their lives, Herb and Betty enjoyed traveling, visiting over 120 countries. He loved organizing local civil war trips with classmates and attended a number of West Point reunions In the later years, these became regular weekly or monthly lunches with local West Point classmates. Herb had other more unusual pastimes. He became an adept beekeeper for years, despite his bee-sting allergy (requiring desensitization). The honey he harvested was delicious. Other more whimsical endeavors included trying to tame a raccoon for a pet, raising white homing pigeons and watching them return home after releasing them, and engineering a home-made potato cannon. These stories and more can be found in his 2nd book which highlights his characteristic dry-witted humor: “Why Be Normal? From Soup to Nuts, Mostly Nuts” (2005).

Herb was active in Epiphany Lutheran Church, a member in the local Kiwanis Chapter, and a member of the Cosmos Club in Washington DC where he chaired their speakers’ program, one of his invited speakers was Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. He loved attending talks at the Cosmos Club, Brookings Institute, and Cato Institute.. He was active locally as co-chair (1977-79) of the Mount Vernon Council and member of the Military Operations Research Society (Vice President 1972-1974 and sponsor 1988-1994). Herb believed in social justice, supporting Amnesty International, and was very dedicated toward eliminating the death penalty. He became an active member in VADP (Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty) and produced a documentary, “Death by Design-A Discussion Centered on The Death Penalty in The U.S.” and enlisted the help of friends, actors, and a crew to film the documentary at home. Capital punishment was abolished in Virginia on March 24, 2021. Herb stayed engaged in his community and loved reading and discussing world events----we have certainly missed some of numerous activities but we hope that this obituary gives a flavor of his life and those missed will not be offended.

Herb was preceded in death by his wife Betty, his parents, Ella and Herbert Puscheck and sister Mary (Jerry) Kronberger. Herb is survived by his children: Elizabeth (Daniel Rappolee) Puscheck and Lisa Puscheck, grandchildren Eleanor (David Sandahl) Rappolee, Thomas Rappolee, Benjamin Rappolee, Isabel and Jackson Zamer and nieces Ann (Mark) Knutson, Renee (John) Burda, nephew Alan Kronberger, and several other related families mainly in Wisconsin.

Herb’s legacy will remain as a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, neighbor, and friend to many. We are all better for having known him and his passing leaves a void.

His USMA classmates sum up his life well: “May it be said: Well done, Be thou at peace”.

The Memorial Service will be at Demaine Funeral Home on 520 S. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA on November 2, 2024. Visitation is at 11 AM with service at noon and fellowship to follow.

Internment will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

In Lieu of flowers, donations to:

- Michael J. Fox Parkinson Foundation

- Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area

- Death Penalty Action

- Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon