REMEMBERING THE LIVES OF THOSE IN MARYLAND WHO DIED FROM CORONAVIRUS

They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Many were proud grandparents.

All were loved, relatives say, and will be forever missed. As the number of deaths

attributable to the coronavirus ticks upward, The Sun is working to chronicle those

who have lost their lives in the Baltimore area. These are some of those victims.

when his ancestors had emigrated to the U.S. from Belgium, the original family surname of Bosman (which meant ‘man of the woods’ in the native language) was Anglicized to Bushman, and seeing how Honey’s family and ancestors were renowned woodworkers from Germany, there was little wonder that he was destined to be a lumberman,” a son, Stephen S. Bushman, of York, Pennsylvania, wrote in a biographical profile of his father. “As he liked to say, ‘I’ve good wood in my veins.’ ”

Outgrowing its Baltimore location, Mr. Bushman opened a satellite branch and dry kiln facility in Cockeysville, and on New Year’s Eve1969, a13-alarm fire swept through and destroyed its Fells Point facility, forcing the company to move to a new state-of-the-art plant in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.

Another blow came in 1972 when Tropical Storm Agnes severely damaged the Cockeysville facility with flooding, after which all operations were consolidated at the New Freedom operation.

“Despite all of these all-but Biblical setbacks, under Bob’s leadership Mann & Parker had grown to be recognized as one of the largest independent distributors of forest products in the Middle Atlantic States,” his son wrote. “By the 1980s, the company had blossomed to more than 80 employees and was actively distributing hardwoods not only throughout the entire nation. but exporting to a number of countries in Europe as well.”

All four of his sons have worked in the business, and his youngest son, David D. Bushman, of Cockeysville, is currently the company’s CEO, and Mr. Bushman’s wife was company’s treasurer and a member of its board.

By the 1990s and approaching the age of 70, Mr. Bushman eschewed retirement and spearheaded the formation of an affiliated company and newly constructed facility in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the M& P Lumber Company LLC.

“Those who knew him might say as a titan of the forest products industry, he had sawdust in his blood,” Mr. Huntzinger wrote. “He built a family, a company an d many became part of that ‘family.’ Together, we helped build things that will endure long after we are but dust and distant memories.”

With his sons basically operating the business, Mr. Bushman could indulge their passion for golf. They were longtime members of the Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix in Baltimore County. In 2004, the couple sold their Monkton home and moved to La Quinta, California, where they continued playing golf at PGA West.

“Regardless of how long he was in California, he never left his business behind and had the hacienda of his La Quinta home converted into an office and was typically on the phone with the Mann and Parker weekly, if not daily, and frequently traveled to visit customers throughout the Los Angeles Basin with the company’s sales representative,” his son wrote.

He was a member of numerous professional associations and college boards, some of which included Michigan State, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, College of Natural Resources, and Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.

Mr. Bushman’s wife died in 2012, and two years later he returned to Maryland.

He had been an Orioles season ticket holder for more than 50 years and enjoyed attending games with customers and their sons, family members said. He also was a Baltimore Colts fan and became a fan of Johnny Unitas on and off the field as well as at the Hillendale Country Club.

After the Colts left Baltimore in 1984, Mr. Bushman transferred his allegiance to the Ravens, who started play in 1996, and continued being a fan of Terps basketball.

He had been a communicant of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, St. John the Baptist Church in New Freedom and St. Francis Assisi Roman Catholic Church in La Quinta.

A private graveside service was held Tuesday in New Freedom. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, plans for a memorial Mass are incomplete.

In addition to his two sons, he is survived by two other sons, Robert R. Bushman Jr. of Mesquite, Nevada, and Christopher C. Bushman of Sykesville; a brother, Herman Bushman Jr. of Alexandria, Virginia; a sister, Loretta Bushman of Wisconsin; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.