Terrance John Rusnak Jr.

Dr. Terry Rusnak Jr., 49, passed away on Wednesday, July 19, 2017 at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center. He bravely fought pancreatic cancer for the last 15 months and died from complications due to the spreading of the disease.

He was born march 20, 1968 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. As an Army dependent, he spent the first 16 years of his life traveling throughout the country and studying at a number of elementary schools including the Military Academy at West Point where he graduated from the 8th grade. After two years of high school in the Chicago area he and his family settled in El Cajon where he finished high school at Grossmont.

Terry was an accomplished scholar earning a BA cum laude from UCLA in 1991. While there, he was creative in financing his last year of college by being a DJ at parties and winning Family Feud with his Delta Tau Delta fraternity brothers.

After undergraduate work, Terry went on to achieve a MA in Classical and near Eastern Archeology in 1995 at Bryn Mawr College, a Fullbright Fellowship in Athens 1996-97, a PhD in Classical and Near Archeology from Bryn Mawr College in 2001 and a post-Doctoral Fellowship at The Ohio University. Terry was most in his element when he did archaeological digs in Bulgaria and Greece. It was during these experiences he became proficient in reading Greek, Italian, Latin, German and French as well as being conversant in Greek. He moved to San Diego in 2003 to work in the family business, RBE, and subsequently he went back to his scholarly roots to become a visiting middle and high school teacher in San Diego.

Following his family tradition and Chicagoland roots, Terry was a lifelong White Sox and Bears fan. He particularly loved detailed oriented hobbies such as watch making, painting lead figurines for gaming and rebuilding a 1967 Mustang. He also enjoyed karaoke, video games, and Formula one racing. Recently, he loved spending time with his girlfriend Christine, making her laugh, going on hikes, going to concerts and being a role model and friend to her son Ronnie.

He is survived by his parents: Terrance and Marlene Rusnak; his brother and sister in law Scott and Kimberly Rusnak; his aunt: Wendy Rusnak; his uncle and aunt: Bryant and Carole Rusnak; his girlfriend: Christine Laseak and her son Ronnie, with whom he lived; and his faithful companion: Sophie.

No calling hours will be observed.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 pm on August 1st at the El Cajon Mortuary, 684 S. Mollison Ave, El Cajon followed by a celebration of life at 1550 Chiswick Court, El Cajon.

In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions can be made to the Pancreatic Action Network (www.PANCAN.org) in honor of Terrance "Terry" Rusnak Jr.,

Arrangements under the direction of EI Cajon Mortuary & Cremation Service, El Cajon, California.