 BUSH, BILLY aged 94, died peacefully at home on November 19, 2014 after a 1 1/2 year contest with lymphoma. He was born on May 28, 1920 in Pueblo, Colorado and lived with his maternal grandparents until age 7, when his family moved to northern Idaho. Like others of the "greatest generation," he came of age during the Great Depression, graduating high school in 1938, when he enrolled in junior college and took a course in Civilian Pilot Training. The next year he had a first date with Margery Ann Hutsell, launching a 72 year romance and nearly 68 year marriage. She predeceased him in 2012. Billy aspired to be a military pilot, and joined the US Navy in 1942. During WWII, he flew dive bombers from the USS Hornet in the Pacific theatre. He received a number of decorations including the Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, several Air Medals, two Presidential Unit Citations, and others. He also served as an instructor of naval aviation cadets during the Korean War. He attended college with support of the GI Bill, obtaining a Master's degree in chemistry from the University of Idaho, leading to a 32 year career in the petrochemical industry. He often noted the effect of the hard times which shaped his youth, observing "if you couldn't pay for it, you didn't buy it," and demonstrated a resultant lifelong pattern of self-reliance and fiscal and political conservatism. He is survived by son Steven E. Bush, MD and wife Peggie Ann Findlay, MD in Albuquerque, and their children, Alexandra and Brendan. He is also survived by son Michael W. Bush and wife, Cynthia in St. Charles, MO and their children, Erin and Andrew. He will be remembered with love and great fondness by family and a wide circle of friends, who all appreciated his wise perspectives, grace, and good humor. One of his last requests was that his friends would raise a toast to his memory, "He was one of the most fortunate people we have ever met. He was truly blessed." A memorial service for both Margery Ann and Billy will be scheduled early in the New Year. Their cremains will be interred together in the Arlington National Cemetery.
|
