Editor’s note: For this year’s Black History Month, Greater Union Life Center is sponsoring banners along Woodland Boulevard in DeLand honoring 16 individuals who have made a positive impact on the city of DeLand, and Volusia County.
Charles Allen “Chuck” Cusack Jr.
Charles Allen “Chuck” Cusack Jr. was a beloved family man and educator, who touched the lives of hundreds of students.
“When I think about Chuck, I think about nothing but success,” his wife of 48 years, Joyce Cusack, said. “He was such a caring person, such a good father, and a good man. I just think of Chuck as being the most courageous person I’ve ever met. I didn’t know what it meant to have a person in your life that could mean so much until I met him.”
An educator for more than 30 years, Chuck Cusack was also a longtime deacon at Greater Union First Baptist Church, in addition to serving on many boards and committees in the DeLand community, where he was born and raised. He passed away in 2009.
Joyce Cusack, who served eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, said in Tallahassee, her husband was known as “Mr. Legislature.”
“He was the strength in our marriage. Anytime I wanted to do something, he would push me on. You want to do it, he says, you trust God, don’t you? We’ll make it. If you want, let’s do that,” Cusack said.
Cusack said she was honored and pleased for the recognition, although in life, Chuck avoided accolades.
“He never made a big deal about anything he did but his kids. If you said you wanted to honor him, he’d say, ‘Oh, no,’” Cusack said. “Everything he did, he said he did it for the glory of God.”
