Rusty Carrick, 62, of Anderson, SC, passed away on Monday, September 21, 2026, at Greenville Memorial Hospital. He was a builder, a fixer, a bowler, and, if you ever handed him something broken, the reason you never needed to call a repairman.

Rusty grew up in and around the bowling alley his parents owned, which turned out to be the most important address of his life. It gave him a lifelong love of the game, a permanent tolerance for the smell of lane oil, and one evening, an introduction to Christine, who would become his wife of 41 years. Their son Matthew later met his own wife at a bowling alley too, though a different one, which Rusty always maintained was a technicality.

He never really left the lanes. For years he spent Saturday mornings coaching kids in the youth league, patiently walking them through the approach and the release, keeping score of the things that actually mattered. More than a few adults still hold a bowling ball the way Rusty taught them to.

At home, he built. Much of the furniture in his house, and in his son's, came out of his workshop, made to last longer than the people who ordered it. In his younger years he restored classic cars, a 1965 and a 1966 Corvette among them, coaxing engines back to life in his garage on weekends. There was no repair he considered beyond him and, to his family's occasional alarm, no ladder he considered too tall.

He is survived by his wife, Christine Carrick; his son, Matthew Carrick, and Matthew's wife, Melisa Carrick; and his brother, Rick Carrick and Rick's wife Linda. He was preceded in death by his parents, Owen Carrick and Patricia Bethka Carrik; and sister, Dawn Murphy.

A gathering of family and friends will be held on Saturday, October 31, 2026, between the hours of 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm at The McDougald Funeral Home. Please drop by to speak with the family and share your memories of Rusty.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org, or that you take a youth bowling at your local bowling alley to support the sport Rusty loved so much.

Condolences may be left for the family by visiting WWW.MCDOUGALDFUNERALHOME.COM