Deceased March 3, 2013

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In Memory

Sad to report, Bob Bushey—one of the most talented, cheerful and personable members of our class­—passed away March 3, 2013, in Centennial, Colo., of congestive heart failure, after years of a weakening heart and immune system. A stirring memorial service was held April 6, 2013, at Plymouth Congregational Church in Englewood, Colo., the sanctuary filled with music and song. Notes Martha (“Marty”), his loving wife of 56 years, “He truly loved to sing—from his Amherst days in the DQ to decades with the renowned Sound of the Rockies Chorus and its Barbershop Quartets.”

But that’s just one way to remember Bob. Think about his brilliant career in orthodontics. His love of family. His love of Amherst. Even in his last days, he kept asking Marty if she thought he would make it to our 60th reunion.

Consider, too, his incredible resolve. Bob amassed summer school credits to shift his major to a pre-med/dental track, assuring graduation with Amherst 1953 in absentia.He then enrolled in Northwestern Dental School, met and married Marty, served as an officer at a U.S. Air Force base in Germany and, upon his return to the United States, was accepted for postgraduate study at the prestigious University of Illinois School of Dentistry. Later he launched a private practice in Denver, also chairing the orthodontics department at the University of Colorado School of Dentistry—his time always balanced with keynote presentations, speeches and other outreach that helped make him one of the most honored leaders in orthodontics in the United States and Europe.

In 1997, Bob turned over his private practice, freeing more family vacation time at the Bushey lakeside home in Minnesota. Besides Marty, he is survived by four loving children and nine grandchildren.

“It is not often that we have the privilege of meeting someone with such depth and breadth that we are left humbled and grateful. Bob Bushey was such a man,” said Rev. George Anastos, senior minister of the First Plymouth Congregational Church in Englewood.

Philip W.Ransom Jr. ’53