Rusty Capps passed away at home on March 7, 2025, surrounded by his family. He fought courageously against the pancreatic cancer that was diagnosed last February but he was ultimately unable to beat this insidious disease. He was 82.

Rusty is survived by his wife of 37 years, Cindy; son Sean and his wife Tori; son Devon and his wife Leia; his daughter Erin; and eight grandchildren.

Rusty (given name Freddie Lee Capps Jr.) was born on June 5, 1942, in San Diego, Calif., to Grace and Freddie Lee Capps Sr. Growing up in a military family, Rusty lived on many Air Force bases throughout the United Sates and the world. His favorite post was in Hawaii where he graduated from high school and learned to surf.

Rusty was a ROTC student at the University of Arizona. After graduating in 1965, Rusty was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Infantry Division. He was selected as a candidate for Ranger school, and he received his Ranger tab in 1968 after successfully completing the demanding training. In 1969, Rusty was sent to Vietnam as a company commander. He and his men conducted combat operations near the Cambodian Vietnam border in Tay Ninh Province.

After returning from Vietnam, Rusty earned a master's degree in international business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and several years later, a master's degree in psychology from Cal State Dominguez Hills.

After working briefly for Caterpillar Corporation in Yuma, Arizona, Rusty entered on duty as an FBI special agent in 1974. He worked a variety of federal violations in the San Francisco and Los Angeles field offices. Rusty worked on the Patty Hearst and Rabbit Run bank robbery cases in San Francisco and undercover against a foreign counterintelligence target in Long Beach, Calif. 

As a pilot, Rusty flew FBI surveillance aircraft in criminal and counterintelligence cases. He was selected to run the Antiterrorism Operations Command Center for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Rusty was instrumental in creating the peer counseling program while assigned to the Los Angeles office. 

In 1990, Rusty was promoted to supervisory special agent and transferred to FBIHQ in Washington, D.C. In 1994, in the aftermath of the Aldrich Ames espionage case, he was selected as one of 47 members from intelligence community agencies to be seconded to a new Congressionally mandated agency, the National Counterintelligence Center. 

He retired in 1995 and, with a partner, started a company that provided counterintelligence and counterterrorism training to members of the intelligence community. After selling that company and moving with Cindy and Sean to Rockbridge County in 2006, he started CT/Cl Training Partners, LLC in 2007. The company continues to provide counterterrorism and counterintelligence training to government agencies. 

Rusty was a mentor to hundreds of high school students through the Leadership Initiative program at Georgetown University. Many former students credit Rusty with fostering their passion for intelligence and government service.

Rusty was an avid runner, having completed eight marathons and numerous other shorter races. He was forced to stop running at age 79 because of ankle problems. He was an avid history buff and one of the highlights of his life was the trip he took in 2023 with Sean and Devon to the World War II battlefields in France, Belgium and Germany.

In the last two years Rusty developed a new passion - pickleball. In typical Rusty fashion, he took lessons, watched hours of video, joined three leagues and became a great player. 

A special thank-you to Rusty's pickleball friends for providing love, support and meals during this difficult time. 

Visitation will be held March 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Harrison Funeral Home in Lexington. The funeral will be held at Harrison Funeral Home on March 15 at 11 a.m., followed by a burial at Oak Grove Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Rockbridge Christmas Baskets program would be greatly appreciated. The website for donations is www.rockbridgechristmasbaskets.org.

Arrangements are by Harrison Funeral Home and Crematory.