An Unexpected Death

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Peggy and the family at their loss.

Leon F. Bush, 86, died suddenly Thursday, June 10, 2010 at his Sunnyview home in Brookings, SD. The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15, at First United Methodist Church in Brookings. Visitation is from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Monday, June 14, at Eidsness Funeral Home, with a brief prayer service at 7:00. Leon was born January 28, 1924 in Brooksville, KY, to George and Anna (Kalb) Bush. He grew up in a family of seven children on a tobacco farm in the hills of northeastern Kentucky and graduated from Brooksville High School in 1941. Following graduation from high school, he farmed for several years with his father and brother Bill. He enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers in April 1945, served in Japan, and was discharged in December of 1946. He attended the University of KY in Lexington, earning a B.S. in Animal Science in 1950 and an M.S. in Animal Science in 1951. While at the university, Leon married his high school sweetheart, Mary Wood Lee, on June 7, 1949. They moved to Ithaca, NY, where Leon earned his Ph.D. in Sheep Nutrition & Reproduction at Cornell University in 1954. Following graduation from Cornell, Leon and Mary Wood made their home in Brookings, SD, where they raised their family of four children. Leon was an associate professor in the Animal Science Department of South Dakota State University from 1954 until his retirement in 1985. From 1972-1974, he took a leave of absence from the university to travel to Iran with Mary Wood and his two youngest children, where he served as a consultant for Development & Resources. During his employment at SDSU, from April 1979 to August 1983, Leon and Mary Wood lived in Gaborone, Botswana, where he worked with U.S. Aid at Botswana Agricultural College. Leon was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Zeta, and the American Society of Animal Science. He served on various church boards and commissions, and was an active 4-H leader and Boy Scout leader for many years. He recently served as treasurer for Retired Teachers Association, Brookings Township Board, and Sunnyview, Inc. He farmed and raised sheep throughout most of his life and was recognized as an FFA Honorary Farmer. He also enjoyed raising and showing Morgan horses with his daughter and granddaughter. Other favorite pastimes included gardening, traveling, and woodworking, especially intarsia projects that he created for family members. Leon was devoted to his family, and loved spending time with his three grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Mary Wood; his daughters, Margaret Bush of Brookings and Patricia Bush of Mitchell, SD; his sons, David Bush of Loveland, CO and John (Connie) Bush of Mitchell; three grandchildren, Ashlee Wakeman, Justin Bush, and Kelsey Bush; and siblings, Ruth Figgins, Jane Bush, and Alma Bush of Brooksville, KY; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, brothers Otto and Bill, and sister Erma Mains. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to either First United Methodist Church in Brookings or Brookings Habitat for Humanity.

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