Gayzell Hopkins Rush

Gayzell was born in Salisbury, N.C., in 1933 and received her Bachelor’s degree from Catawba College in 1956. She continued her education at Appalachian State Teacher’s College in Boone, N.C., where she received her teaching certification. Gayzell became an elementary school teacher and taught at various schools in Winston-Salem, N.C., Belmont Abbey, N.C., Marietta, Ga., and McKees Rocks, Pa. After leaving her teaching career to raise her two children, she resumed her much-loved role as a teacher at Tyson’s Corner Play and Learn in McLean, Va., where she worked for 13 years. Gayzell had a passion for teaching children and remembered details about her students, who she called “her kids,” well after she retired. One of her favorite pastimes was talking and laughing with friends over a good cup of coffee. She also had a lifetime love of music and enjoyed singing. Even in her final years when dementia took her memories, it could not take away her love for music, and she sang along — sometimes quite loudly — from the audience whenever a musician performed at her retirement community. She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy Thomas Hopkins and Sarah Mazie Blevins Hopkins, both of Salisbury, N.C.

She is survived by her husband, John W. Rush of Rome, Ga.; her daughter, Laura Rush and her husband, Alexander Lyman, of Arlington, Va.; her son, John W. Rush II and his wife, Laury Rush, of Milton, Ga.; her three grandchildren, Logan, Madeline, and Lydia; her sister, Pansy Hopkins Webb of Anderson, S.C.; and her brother, Roy Thomas Hopkins, Jr. of Concord, N.C.

A memorial service was held at 4 p.m. on Feb. 13 at Rush Chapel United Methodist Church in Adairsville, Ga. with the Rev. Larry Russell officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial gifts to be made in memory of Gayzell Hopkins Rush to: The Alzheimer’s Association 922 East Morris St. Dalton. GA. 30721, or to: Rush Chapel United Methodist Church, 1225 Rush Chapel Road, NE Rome, Georgia 30161.

Please visit www.daniels-funeralhome.com to share fond memories with Gayzell's family.