Russell "Rusty" Scott Caplen

Rusty came home from the hospital when he was six months old with 24-hour home nursing for a year. Despite what doctors said, Rusty surpassed all their expectations. At age three Rusty attended the Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities at Carpenter Elementary in Deer Park, Texas. While at Carpenter, Rusty was the poster child for the inclusion program for Texas schools. He then attended Bonnette Junior High and Deer Park High School. He attended outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapies for 13 years. Even though Rusty was non-verbal, he communicated very well using his own limited form of sign language, gestures, and noises.

in 2008 Rusty and his family moved to Georgetown, Texas where Rusty attended and graduated from Georgetown High School. In 2011 Rusty became one of the original citizens at Brookwood in Georgetown (BiG), a work/residential program for special needs adults. Rusty flourished in the BiG community. For the first time in his life, Rusty had real friends. He loved going to work every day, having a job, and being with his friends. Rusty was known for his mischievous pranks he would play on the unsuspecting supervisors. Each one was followed by huge giggles and laughter from Rusty.

Rusty's favorite things included listening to music, especially Carrie Underwood songs, and watching ER, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune. He also loved looking at and riding in buses. Both in school and at BiG, Rusty always made sure he was the first one on the bus and the last one off.

In his death Rusty will continue to live on. His corneas were donated to the Eye Bank to be used so others can see.

He is preceded in death by his father, Barry Caplen; his grandparents, Monty and Charles Caplen; and his grandfather, Hardy Robison. He is survived by his mother, Becky Caplen; his sister, Lauren Caplen of Cypress, Texas; his sister, Vanessa Bernard and her husband, Tim, of St. Petersburg, Florida; and his grandmother, Nina Robison, of Georgetown, Texas.

Graveside service will be at 11 o'clock a.m. Friday, April 5, 2024, at I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Georgetown, Texas.

Serving as pallbearers are Eric Clark, Bradley Antoine, Bart Madeley, Tim Duke, Jeremiah Wilkins, and Sean Jennings, all of whom have been with Rusty at BiG since the beginning. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Brookwood in Georgetown at 905 N. Church Street, Georgetown, Texas 78626 or online at brookwoodingeorgetown.org

Rusty was the light of our life and the center of our world for 35 years. We will miss him dearly. While his body may not have been perfect, Rusty was the perfect son for us. He is now in heaven with Jesus and his dad until we meet him again.

We would like to thank Dr. Jessica Lewis and Becky Gary, for their unwavering care and compassion and determination to make Rusty the best he could be. A special thanks to Dr. Sami Aboumater, Dr. Michael Shapiro, and Dr. Matthew Geck for the excellent care they gave Rusty for the last 13 years. And a heartfelt thanks to the entire BiG staff, families, and volunteers who went above and beyond in caring for Rusty as part of the BiG community.