LaVone May Bush

MESA – May 29, 1929 – July 8, 2020 LaVone May Bush slipped away peacefully on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after four years and nine months in memory care at Reflections of Fellowship Square in Mesa. Due to Covid-19, Reflections has been on lockdown since March and face-toface visits have not been possible. However, only ten hours earlier on Tuesday, July 7, LaVone was smiling, perky, talkative, laughing, singing, and throwing kisses to her family during a Duo video chat. LaVone was a dedicated mother and military wife, active church member and volunteer. She lived in Arizona for 45 years residing first at Luke Air Force Base (AFB), then in Glendale and Mesa. As an Air Force wife, she accompanied her husband to various postings including: Ohio (twice); Pennsylvania (twice, including Penn State University); Colorado; Bitburg, German; Alabama; Montana; Newfoundland, Canada; Washington; Michigan (while her husband Dave was stationed in Vietnam); Maryland; Missouri and finally, Arizona.

LaVone was born on May 29, 1929 to Frank Naramor and Bernice Downer in Pontiac, Michigan. She graduated from High School in Sault Ste. Marie (the “Soo”), Michigan in 1947. In High School she was a 4’ 11” perky cheerleader nicknamed “Sparky” and a member of the 100-voice mixed choir that performed for General Eisenhower at the Pentagon, various Washington, DC churches and the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She was also the choir Secretary and a teacher’s aide.

As a youngster and teenager in the Soo, she worked various jobs including serving hamburgers and shakes at Clyde’s Drive-In, in retail at Thomas Appliance and Music store and cooking and serving in her stepfather and mother’s restaurants.

In 1948, LaVone met her future husband of almost seventy years, David “Dave” Bush, at a student dance at the Sault Branch of Michigan Tech (now known as Lake Superior State University). She accepted Dave’s marriage proposal in below-zero temperatures, while standing in the snow overlooking the famous Soo Locks. Dave and LaVone were married in 1950 in her parents’ second floor apartment in Detroit, Michigan.

While David was completing his senior year at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan, LaVone took a job with the city’s Youth Department teaching Art and Music to grade school students after her school day. Her crowning success was teaching Catholic school kids, their first experience with the music and story of Christmas. With permission of the Mother Superior, the kids performed the program with costumes and props in front of the other students, the cloistered Nuns and the parents. Continuing to follow her love of vocal music, she sang in the base Protestant chapel choirs. Later she taught herself to be a choir director, discovering and learning all the nuances of individual musical parts, language and symbols that determine the timing, tempo, dynamics, hand gestures and signals for conducting, and facial expressions to produce complete professional musical presentations. Many of her participating singers were novices and inexperienced, but she worked to help them develop into accomplished choir and musical members, some performing solos. Her favorite music programs were cantatas performed for Christmas and Easter and at some of the chapels she also founded youth choirs. In addition, she directed Officer Wives Choruses that performed on and off base. At several bases, she directed and produced ‘Roaring Twenties’ musicals that included all the performers, both men and women, in authentic Roaring Twenties costumes, including flapper dresses, period hairdos and makeup, gangster wardrobe, and set decorations and props. While at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, the shows were taken off-base for performances at the local senior center. At Fort Ritchie, she also taught herself to play acoustic guitar. While at Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri, along with the base Protestant

Chaplain and his wife, she formed a trio called the ‘Happy Halos’ and put on shows at many of the senior centers in the suburbs of Kansas City. At times she performed solo with a puppet dog called ‘Matthew the Methodist Mutt’. Over the years she received many commendations and letters of appreciation from base Chaplains, base commanders and the public.

While stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, she became a Red Cross volunteer at Luke AFB Hospital. Her initial assignment was to provide occupational therapy projects to patients. She developed a program where the patients would paint a ceramic item, then she would then take the item away for firing and return the finished item to the patient. Some longterm patients even painted complete Christmas creches. The program was a patient favorite that helped promote recovery and rehabilitation. Later, she was assigned to manage nearly all Red Cross volunteers in the Hospital. Concurrently, she was tasked by the hospital commander to train all the volunteers and some hospital staff on how to best treat and serve patients. She was awarded letters of commendation and was selected as Red Cross Volunteer of the Year.

At Red Mountain United Methodist Church in Mesa, she was Chairwoman of the Visitation Committee, whose purpose was to stay in contact with all members who were unable to attend services (short and long-term) by phone, mail or personal visits. She filled many index cards with Bible verses and other inspirational material, which she gave away during visits. For Christmas, the visitation committee members made large Christmas stockings, filled them with gifts, and then personally delivered them to such members.

LaVone was blessed with outstanding sewing skills. Hand-making many of her dresses, including a red velvet formal dress, baby clothes and clothes for her adolescent children. Her hobbies included ceramics (from pouring to firing), knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, rubber stamp art, oil painting, creating felt Christmas tree decorations, baby blankets with three dimensional figures, calligraphy, playing the guitar and reading. For fun she loved to dance, bowl and play cribbage along with other card games.

Travel was a true passion for both LaVone and her Dave. In 1961, while stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Montana, they purchased their first of several travel “homes” (trailers, campers, RV’s, etc.). During the next fifty plus years, they spent their vacations and free time traveling throughout the States and Canada, always on the road staying in national, state and local parks and other campgrounds. In 2000, the Highlight of all this travel was a two-week 50th Anniversary family trip that had them re-visiting memorable locales throughout their home state of Michigan.

LaVone was preceded in death by Dave and her infant son, Kerry, her parents and her older brother Dale. She is survived by her husband David, daughters, Debra Van Dusen and Terry Kaubisch, son Daryl (all residing in Arizona), her younger brother Keith Naramor, and nieces and nephews scattered throughout the United States (Arizona, Michigan, Oregon, California, Washington and New York).

She will live on forever in the hearts of her husband, children, loved-ones, friends, church family and all who came to know her.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the celebration of LaVone’s life will be planned to for a later date for friends and family to gather. She will be interred at The Columbarium at Red Mountain United Methodist Church in Mesa. In lieu of flowers, donations in LaVone’s name can be made to:

Mail to: Red Mountain United Methodist Church

2936 North Power Road

Mesa, AZ 85215

Check made out to: Red Mountain United Methodist Church

On the check memo line write: For FOOD BANK

Mail to: Fellowship Square Mesa

6945 E. Main Street

Mesa, AZ 85207

Attn: Tawnya Christensen (or) Melissa Opat

Check made out to: Fellowship Square Mesa Donation

On the check memo line write: For REFLECTIONS