Mary Bush

BUSH, Mary…

M. Mary Bush left us on Saturday, December 25, 2021, at the age of 93, after a brief illness that she endured with the grace and quiet strength that distinguished her life.

She was born in London, England, in 1928, the daughter of the late Vernon George Sutcliffe and Muriel Edith Gross. She lived through the Second World War and the bombing of London, but she always took a cheerful view of things. Her memories of childhood and youth were happy ones: riding ponies with her brother on their grandparents’ farm in Ireland; visiting with her cousins Teddy and Joan; boarding-school sports, at which she excelled.

She attended the University of Edinburgh, where she was a “blue,” chosen to captain the lacrosse team not so much by virtue of her talent (as she always liked to say) as her pluck. She studied French under Georges Poulet (an eminent French literary critic of the time) and earned an MA in French language and literature, along with a glowing recommendation from Poulet that launched her teaching career.

Following her studies, she taught at the Godolphin and Latymer School in England, then the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. It was there that she met Bill, her dear husband for the next 60 years. Together they moved to North Carolina, then London, Ontario. After a 10-year hiatus devoted to raising their four children, she resumed her teaching at Brescia College then King’s College at the University of Western Ontario, where she was beloved by students and colleagues alike.

Modest about her own achievements, she was immoderately proud of her children’s and grand-daughter’s successes, which earned her, from her sons, the teasing nickname “Miss Proudfoot.” She delighted in the fun of family life and its rituals, which she organized: festive meals, trips to England and France, summer holidays on a Manitoulin Island farm. And she enjoyed her post-retirement travels with Bill. She was a devoted parishioner at the Church of the Holy Transfiguration, where she had many friends.

During the last 15 years of her life, she cared for Bill after his stroke in 2005, battling on through her own heart attack and failing health. But she was a cheerful warrior. A keen driver, she reluctantly surrendered her keys at the age of 90, on being reminded that she’d never had an accident and thus had a chance to retire undefeated – something that very few fighters manage to do.

She was sustained, during the pandemic shutdown, by the care of her daughter Anastasia, by FaceTime calls with her family, and by the community and staff at Inspirit Residences. She announced, some months into the shutdown, that she was determined to live long enough to see us all in person again. As was her wish, she died at home, peacefully, surrounded by family.

Her generosity, thoughtfulness, charm, lively spirit and sense of fun will be missed by all who knew her, but especially by her children, Anastasia, Jamie (Danielle), John, and Andrew (Lisa); her granddaughter, Jessica; and the extensive family of her late brother, John Sutcliffe.

A graveside service will be held at Woodland Cemetery, London on Thursday, December 30, 2021. As precautionary measures, face masks will be required, social distancing respected, and personal information will be gathered at the event to facilitate contact tracing. Donations in memory of Mary may be made to a charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted with A. Millard George Funeral Home, 519-433-5184. Online condolences, memories and photographs shared at www.amgfh.com