Richard Shust of Chester, NY, a retired school teacher at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, NJ, and a longtime resident of Chester, died Wednesday, May 25, 2011 in Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown. He was 73.

The son of the late Albert and Mae Martinsak Shust, he was born on October 23, 1937 in the Bronx.

He was a member of the St. Columba R.C. Church in Chester; former member of the Chester School District Board of Education; a member of the Goshen Seniors and a patient advocate for nursing homes in the area. Mr. Shust was formerly honored with the Teacher of the Year Award for the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ and recently inducted into the St. Joseph Regional High School Hall of Fame.

Survivors include his brothers, Albert Shust and wife Margaret of Shohola, PA and Paul Shust and wife Elizabeth of Warwick, NY; sister-in-law, Marie Shust of Westwood, NJ; and many nieces and nephews.

He is predeceased by brother Robert Shust.

A funeral mass was celebrated on Friday, May 27 at St. Columba R.C. Church, Chester. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY.

Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or St. Joseph Regional High School.