Carolyn Bush
Carolyn Bush, age 89, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI. She was born in Franklin, KY on Oct. 8, 1923, the daughter of Dewey and Katie Wells (Glover) Lindsey. At an early age, she moved with her family to Valparaiso, Ind. She was raised there with her sister, Janet Lindsey, and her brother, David Lindsey. She married Norman Bush on June 7, 1941. She and Norman raised their family and worked in Valparaiso until retirement in 1974, when they moved to the Carolinas to be near her daughter’s family. After Norman’s death in 2002, she moved to Deerfield, WI to be closer to her son and her Wisconsin family. In 2011, she moved to Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge in Madison. Her sister, Janet Lindsey, joined her there in 2012.
Carolyn was a remarkable woman. She was a pilot, flying solo for the first time while pregnant with her first child. Together with Norman, a former Naval aviator, she owned several airplanes. She graduated at the top of her class at Valparaiso University while raising her young son and daughter. She received her master’s degree from the same University, where she taught Spanish for several years. Then she taught high school biology and Spanish in Indiana and South Carolina. At retirement, Carolyn was Biology Department Chair. She received a National Science Foundation grant to study at Yale University, and she also did graduate studies in Spanish at Villa Hermosa, Mexico. She served as a national judge for numerous high school science fairs. Throughout her life, she mentored many. With Norman, she lived on the beach at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., then at Sunset Beach, N.C. Carolyn loved to walk the shore, gathering biology specimens and studying the ocean’s beauty. She participated in creating a natural history museum at Ocean Isle. She was an avid and dedicated birder, traveling about the country and doing pelagic birding trips off both coasts. She was a self-taught artist: she created with watercolors, pastels, pencil, pen and ink, oils and acrylics; she did fiber sculptures. She was bright, creative and loving.
She was mother to Curtis Wells Bush and Barbara Whitney (Bush) McKain, and she was “Busha” to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Norman; and her great grandson, Jack. Carolyn is survived by her sister, Janet Lindsey of Madison, WI and her brother, David Lindsey and his wife, Mary, of Morehead City, N.C. She is further survived by her daughter, Barbara Whitney McKain and her husband, Lyle McKain, of Florence, S.C. and Salt Lake City, Utah, and her son, Curtis Wells Bush and his wife, Sharyl (Stoltz) Bush of Monona. She is survived by her grandson, Erik Wells (Betsy) Bush and their children, William Wells, Benjamin, and Frederick of Erie, Colo; her granddaughter, Arianna (Jeffrey) Keil, and their children, Sophia and Jacob of Monona, WI; and Nathan (Lisa) Bush of Madison, WI. She is further survived by her grandson, Mark (Maile) McKain and their daughter, Seneca, of Park City, Utah; and her granddaughter, Melissa (Chris) McKain and their sons, Collin, Hunter, and Lawson, of Park City, Utah.
A memorial service will be held at OAKWOOD VILLAGE PRAIRIE RIDGE, 5565 Tancho Dr., Madison, on Monday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. with Pastor Byron Bunge presiding. There will be a visitation from 1-2:00 p.m. at Oakwood and a gathering at the Prairie Rose Restaurant at Oakwood following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Deerfield Community Center or the charity of one’s choice. The family wishes to extend special thanks to Dr. Jeffrey Keil, his staff at the Dean Clinic, and to St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison, WI. “Vaya con Dios”. On-line condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Memorials:
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Deerfield Community Center or the charity of one’s choice.
Visitation:
There will be a visitation from 1-2:00 p.m. at Oakwood and a gathering at the Prairie Rose Restaurant at Oakwood following the service.
Service:
A memorial service will be held at OAKWOOD VILLAGE PRAIRIE RIDGE, 5565 Tancho Dr., Madison, on Monday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. with Pastor Byron Bunge presiding.
