STATESBORO, Ga - Robert M. (Rusty) Garbutt, was born in Toombs County and was the only child of Robert M. and Fronia Garbutt. He lost his father at the young age of 12 and lost his mother 11 years later when he was only 23.  Losing both of his parents so early in life, especially growing up without a father during the Great Depression, shaped Rusty into a hardworking individual with tremendous work ethic.

Rusty believed that the best way to choose a path to a career was to have a college education. In order to do so, he financed his college education by playing football and working different odd jobs.  He played for three different colleges - then Georgia Teachers College, Mercer and Texas Southwestern. Unfortunately, his college scholarship ended when he broke his leg during his senior year, thus ending his college career.  

However, his determination continued to show through. Rusty teamed up with his half-brother, Ernest Oatts, to co-own and operate the Oatts Drug Company in downtown Dublin, Georgia. He married his wife, Rosalie Brigham, and together they had four children, Rosalie, Robert, Charlie and Martha Anne.

"He pledged that all of his children would have the opportunity to go to college and he afforded that to each of us," said Charlie Garbutt. "We all earned a college degree and some of us received degrees beyond our Bachelors.  He even contributed to his grandchildren's higher education as well."

Rusty also believed that you should always give 100% using social skills, work ethic, enthusiasm, foresight, positive attitude, and respect. Those attributes provided him a successful life and he also instilled those beliefs in his children.  In addition to his time at Georgia Teachers College, his daughter Martha Anne and granddaughter Jackie Charlie Garbutt both graduated from the now Georgia Southern University.

Rusty's children honored their father with a $50,000 endowed a scholarship to Georgia Southern University Athletics. The Robert M. (Rusty) Garbutt Scholarship is designated for a football student-athlete majoring in Construction Management.

"We are very grateful the Garbutt family chose to honor their father through a scholarship with Georgia Southern University Athletics. Endowments like the Robert M. (Rusty) Garbutt Scholarship are vital to the program. More importantly, they make a positive impact on our student-athletes' education and their future." said Kevin Bostian, executive director of the Georgia Southern University Athletic Foundation.

Charlie stated, "Having lost his father at an early age, I believe his football coaches were his mentors and father figures. Coach Crook Smith, of Georgia Teachers College, now Georgia Southern University,  had the largest impact on Daddy. He talked of him often and the influence he had on his life.

"Often for student-athletes, the only avenue to a degree is through sports. Therefore, having scholarship assistance may the only way for some  to graduate from college. These students are also often disciplined and goal oriented, just as our Daddy was. We hope the  Robert M. (Rusty) Garbutt Scholarship will afford deserving student-athletes with an opportunity that might not have been available otherwise.

"An athletic scholarship is a way to honor Daddy, his hard work and respect for college education."




The Georgia Southern University Athletic Foundation's (GSUAF) primary goal is to provide our student-athletes with the opportunity to compete for a championship ring and earn a college education while developing them as future leaders in their respective communities.

The Athletic Foundation currently supports nearly 400 student-athletes who play in one of the 17 Division I varsity programs. Contributions to the Foundation make it possible for Georgia Southern student-athletes to achieve their goals in competition, in the classroom and in life.