ARTHUR BROWN BUSHING

Arthur Brown Bushing, 83, died April 3, 2012, at St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged in Kenosha.

He was born March 19, 1929, to the late Arthur and Helen (Brown) Bushing at Kenosha Hospital. He lived his entire life on Iranna, the Bushing Farm in Salem, the same homestead settled by his great-great-grandfather Isaac Brown in 1842.

He attended Liberty Corners Elementary School, and Wilmot High School, graduating in June of 1947. His early adult years were spent working the family farm, where he milked a herd of Jersey cattle and cared for the family horses.

Horseback riding was one of his favorite endeavors, often involving day trips into the Kettle Moraine trail system. He was a member of many community organizations, including the American Jersey Cattle Club. The American Shorthorn Society, the Pickard Collectors Club, the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Kenosha Historical Society, and was a friend of Old World Wisconsin.

For 20 years he was also a community 4-H leader, specializing in dairy and beef projects. His annual summer livestock showings at the Kenosha, Racine, Walworth and Lake County Fairs were one of his most eagerly anticipated times of the year. For many years he taught Sunday school at Salem United Methodist Church.

In his late 30s he completed a teaching degree at the Racine/Kenosha Teachers College in Union Grove, and went on to earn his bachelors in history at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside. Afterward Arthur spent 24 fulfilling years teaching sixth and seventh grade at Brighton Grade School, where he retired in 1994. Many of his former students, both from Brighton and the local 4-H groups he led, maintained continued contact with him into later adulthood, often visiting him at the Bushing Farm for long, easy conversations in the family living room.

In retirement Arthur enjoyed visiting with his many lifelong friends, taking short trips, collecting antiques, and reading history – especially regarding the English Monarchy. One of his favorite endeavors was maintaining an uncanny awareness of the genealogies of many Western Kenosha County farm families. He would often amaze apparent strangers of their own distant ancestral connection to one of the area’s early settlers.

He touched many lives throughout Western Kenosha County, and he will be greatly missed and warmly remembered by untold residents for many years to come.

Survivors include first cousins, Virginia McCaskey, Des Plaines, Ill., Carol Hutto, California, Dorothy Bader, Maine, Fritz Thornburg, California, Heather Stewart, Oregon, and Kristen Sargeant, Nevada, as well as many other Bushing, Oetting, Brown and Cull cousins.

He was further preceded in death by his younger brother, Fred.

Visitation is Friday, April 6, from 3-7 p.m. at Strang Funeral Home of Antioch, 1055 Main St. (Rte. 83) Antioch Ill., and Saturday, April 7, at Salem United Methodist Church, at 10 a.m. Services will follow at 11 a.m. For more information, call (847) 395-4000.

In lieu of flowers, donation. in Arthur’s memory to the Salem United Methodist Church or the Myasthenia Foundation of America are suggested.

Expressions of deep gratitude are offered to Dr. Bhupendra Khatri MD, Center for Neurological Disorders, Milwaukee, and his staff for 15 years of treatment, and to the caring and attentive staff of the St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged in Kenosha. Well-wishers can visit www.strangfh.com.