John "Jack" Gaffney, a member of the Rush-Henrietta Class of 1951, is a lifelong resident of the school district who worked for his alma mater for nearly 60 years.
From 1951 to 1964, Mr. Gaffney owned and operated a family dairy farm in Rush. He also worked as a substitute mail carrier for Rush and West Henrietta and part-time school bus driver for Rush-Henrietta. From 1964 to 1970, he served as the assistant director of transportation for the Rush-Henrietta Central School District, and worked as director of transportation from 1971 until his retirement in 1996. Even after retiring from that post, Mr. Gaffney still worked on a part-time basis, driving school bus from 1997 to 2009.
A committed community servant, Mr. Gaffney also served as a volunteer with the Rush Fire Department in the 1950s and 1960s, a member of the Rush Town Board from 1991 to 1995, and is a founding member of the Rush-Henrietta Alumni Council. He serves as Eucharistic minister at St. Joe’s Church in Rush, and helps the Rush-Henrietta Area Food Terminal.
In 1983, Mr. Gaffney was the first person to receive the Art Shock Award, given by the New York State Transportation Association to a director who demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to student transportation. In 2005, he was inducted into the New York Association of Pupil Transportation Hall of Fame.
Mr. Gaffney is a main source of information for anyone seeking to learn more about the history of the school district. For many years, he served as a tour guide for new school staff members and Board of Education representatives, driving them around Rush and Henrietta, explaining the developing landscape he has witnessed firsthand. He and his wife, Carolyn '53, live in Rush.
