378 In Memory - Steve Brust, Streator H.S., 1969

I knew you not, oh Steve Brust
But this I know:
You married Mary Jo Hart
To whom I was so closely attached
What with the piano lessons together and the duets
At Louise Castelli's studio,
With the plaster bust of Ludwig Von
And the playing of tag football
And the exploring of the crick
And going onto the North banks of the crick
To smoke reeds and weeds
To be cool, like all the heroes and heroines in those
Black and White movies from the 30's (the depression)
Where they showed all the rich people
Dressed so elegantly in their finery,
Chain smoking and drinking and being refined and witty.
What kid would not be seduced by such a life as this
Especially a kid not conscious of, but also not unaware
That we were not rich, by any means
And although, not poor,
If lower-middle class had been a term routinely bandied about,
This one, we would have recognized instantly as describing our own families
And, likely, because the horizons were limited
Pretty much to the factories (the GI bill had not benefitted many parents from Streator)
The military, the public utilities, the barber shop, the farm,
The auto shops, the newspaper, scissors grinder even (perhaps - there was one of those
and he would sharpen your scissors for a quarter; he had a regular route)
Or one of the dirty, back-breaking jobs that didn't pay well
But most assuredly paid enough
So that a man could afford to feed his family
And have his wife a stay-at-home household engineer.


And you married Mary Jo
And you loved her, and she you
Until the end of time
And your children have grown up beautiful,
Intelligent, good citizens, and you even got to know
Your grand children (luckier here in that by far you than I,
who will have to adopt in order to have a grand daughter;
not that my own son is not trying - its just that
Well, I think he sees many fish in the see
And how lovely they all are
And how much he enjoys their company
In so many different ways,
So, is the poor child supposed to get married
Simply so that his old man can have grand kids?


And you kept your vow to her
She loved you, LOVES YOU STILL
with every fiber of her being
And although time has helped to heal
There is still that aching loneliness, which I would guess
Hurts most in the stillness of the late night
And early morning hours
When she awakens, and only the place in the bed
Where you slept, and your impress there
and her fondest, dearest, most cherished memories
Of you lie there with her
And speak to her
Of your unending love
And how you two will be reunited in heaven.


And if ever there was unfairness on this earth
What could have been more unfair
Than to have you plucked up
So young
With so much to offer
So much yet to do.


Rest in peace, my hero.
You will always be a part of all of us
Of all of us whose lives you touched
And of all of us whose lives Mary Jo has blessed.

In Memory Steve Brust Steve passed away on August 25, 2008 following repeat bypass surgery.  He lived a most eventful life, loved by me and our two sons, Pat and Donnie, and Pat's children, Brianna, age 12, Steven, age 8 and Dalton, age 6. He absolutely adored those kids, especially Brianna, his little girl. Steve worked in the computer field all of his adult life.  He attended computer school in Peoria following graduation from SHS. His first job was with LaSalle County.  Yes, he was the one who created the tax program that generated your tax bills so many years ago. He then worked for Eby-Brown in Aurora.  We were married on February 26, 1972.  Shortly after the birth of our first son, Pat, we moved to Peru where Steve went to work for Jas. F. Cahill & Co. Not content to be an employee, before long he was VP and part-owner of the company now known as Connecting Point Computer Centers in Streator and Peru, and IV Net (internet service). Steve always said that when they started bouncing computer signals from a satellite, he would be ready to retire.  Well, that time has long since passed and he remained in the business. Steve was an avid pilot fulfilling his lifelong dream of owning a plane.  He bought a lite-sport plane in 2007 and was literally on top of the world.  He called flying his personal therapy.  He was always the life of the party, usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. He was the camp director whose job was to make sure everyone else had a good time. Steve was also very community service oriented.  He served with the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce in nearly every capacity.  He was on the board of directors and in line to once again sit as president when he passed. He was a past president and chairman of the United Way. He and a friend figured that between IVAC and the United Way, the two of them were responsible for raising somewhere around $5M. At the recent annual IVAC meeting it was announced that the annual golf outing that Steve chaired for the past 8 years will be named the "Steve Brust Memorial" golf outing in his honor. His capacity to love was immeasurable. I feel it everyday and see it in my childen and grandchildren. It helps, but somehow it is not enough.  Steve, I Love you Forever. Mary Jo