CHARLES B. CUSHWA III, 69 YSU colleagues mourn trustee

Cushwa served as director of the Cushwa Center at YSU for 10 years.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Generosity, enthusiasm and a devotion to the city are traits that marked the character of Charles B. Cushwa III, said friends and colleagues who spoke today of the man who served as vice chairman of the Youngstown State University Board of Trustees.
Cushwa, of Poland, died Saturday during surgery at Cleveland Clinic, YSU officials said. He was 69.
"One of the remarkable things about Charlie and the Cushwa family has been their generosity to Youngstown State University, but Charlie also brought a great zest to the board of trustees," said fellow Trustee Larry Esterly. "His affection for the university was deep, and he brought a liveliness to the board."
Cushwa was named to the YSU board in 1998, and his nine-year term was to expire in 2007.
"Charlie was a major asset to the board, the university and the community," YSU President David C. Sweet said in a prepared statement. "He has been a strong supporter of YSU for many years, and he will be sorely missed."
Dr. Cynthia Anderson, YSU's vice president for student affairs, said she'll miss Cushwa's complimentary nature.
"He was always very appreciative of any effort made on behalf of YSU," she said. "He was very thoughtful.
"It just goes to show you how precious life is and we really have to make every minute count. ... I believe he did. Charlie made the most of the time he had on this Earth."
Cushwa was director of the Cushwa Center for Small Business Development at YSU for 10 years until his retirement in 1998. The center was established in 1978 through an endowment from the Cushwa family and Commercial Shearing Inc., which became Commercial Intertech Inc.
Corporate secretary
Cushwa previously was corporate secretary for Commercial Shearing, which he joined in 1961. The manufacturing company had been purchased by his grandfather and two partners in 1923; it was acquired by Parker Hannifin Corp. of Cleveland in 2000.
Cushwa also served a stint as director of the Home Savings & amp; Loan Co., filling a vacancy left by his father's death in 1975.
Patricia Veisz, director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center at YSU, worked with Cushwa for years and said he was focused on economic development.
"He was very interested in the community and seeing it grow and come back to what it was when he was born here," she said.
Cushwa felt that YSU was "one of the hopes of the community," added Reid C. Schmutz, president of the YSU Foundation.
"Charlie was interested in Youngstown and its people," Schmutz said. "I think his love for the community was demonstrated by what he would do and tried to push the university to do for the economic development of the community. To continue what he did, we're just going to have to do better at that."
His background
Cushwa was born April 10, 1934, in Youngstown, a son of Charles B. Cushwa Jr. and Margaret Hall Cushwa, and attended St. Edward School in Youngstown and Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis.
He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame. He was stationed in North Africa while serving two years with the Army.
He served on the advisory board of the McGuffey Center and the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart. He also was a member of the boards of the Ohio Association of Independent Colleges, Youngstown Symphony Society and the Medical Educational Foundation, and he was a member of the Youngstown Rotary and a member and instructor of the Youngstown Power Squadron.
He was past chairman of the Heart Association of Northeast Ohio and past president of the Mahoning Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Chesterton Club. Cushwa had a long affiliation with the United Way, serving as campaign chairman in 1979. He also had chaired drives for the YMCA, the United Negro College Fund and the Youngstown Goodwill Industries.
When Cushwa chaired the United Way fund drive, he led one of the first successful campaigns in years, said Bill Brennan, former president of the United Way of the Mahoning Valley.
"He was a real kind guy. You couldn't dislike him," Brennan said.
Besides his wife, Denise Burt, whom he married Oct. 12, 1984, he leaves a son, Charles B. IV of Cleveland; four daughters, Suzanne Cushwa Rusnak and Mara E. Cushwa, both of Cleveland, and Mary Baldwin Horton and Elizabeth Chenery Budzik, both of Cincinnati; a brother, William W. of Granger, Ind.; and three grandchildren.
A daughter, Maria, and a sister, Mary Ellen Cushwa Wolsonovich, are deceased.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. Patrick Church. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at McVean & amp; Hughes Funeral Home and from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the church.
Contributions may be made to the Cushwa Center for American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, Ind. 46556; the Youngstown-Mahoning Valley United Way, 255 Watt St., Youngstown 44505; or the Stowe Rotary Scholarship and Charity Fund, C/O Peter Anderson, P.O. Box 566, Stowe, Vt. 05672.