Robert E. (Bob) Bushway, 85, passed away on December 9th, 2016, at the Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center in Springfield, VT, surrounded by his family. He was born on November 12th, 1931 in Springfield, Vermont to Charles V. Bushway and Clara E. Stanford Bushway.
Bob grew up in Westminster West, VT, and graduated from Bellows Falls High School in Bellows Falls, VT, in 1947. He married Ruth M. Bashaw in 1951 in Charlestown, NH. They were happily married for 65 years.
In 1952, Bob went into the US Army and served in Korea as an army surveyor. He was discharged from active duty in 1954 and from the reserves in 1962, at the rank of corporal.
Bob worked for The MacMillin Company in Keene, NH, for over 40 years. He was progressively promoted from carpenter to construction superintendent and then project engineer, and was assigned some of the company’s most challenging and prestigious projects. He directed the construction of hospitals, schools, factories, office buildings and housing complexes in NH, VT and MA. His work included the Deerfield Academy Natatorium in Deerfield, MA and Twin Farms Resort in Barnard, VT. Bob retired in 1997, but remained active with projects at home, for his children, and for the Charlestown Senior Center.
Bob loved country music and was an accomplished steel guitar player. He played in the country band “Country Sunshine” for many years with his wife Ruth. The band entertained at local clubs, restaurants, and private parties. Bob also enjoyed woodworking, mechanical work, and welding. He had a fully equipped woodworking shop and a mechanic’s bay where he built his own furniture, trailers, snow plows, and countless unique inventions. Creating a custom made solution to a specific need was one of Bob’s special talents.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents Charles and Clara Bushway, his brother Charles H. Bushway, and his son, Bruce Bushway.
Bob is survived by his wife Ruth of Charlestown, NH; his daughter Heidi Bushway and husband Greg Lorsbach of West Chesterfield, NH; his daughter-in-law Sherrie Bushway of Charlestown, NH; his brother William Bushway and wife Pat of Charlestown, NH; his sister Irene Brown of Gardner, MA; his half brothers Gordon Bushway of Pittstown, NY and Everett Bushway and wife Amy of Waterford, NY; his step mother Ida Bushway of Valley Falls, NY; his grandchildren Angelique Bushway, Martin Bushway and wife Annessa, Jennifer Bushway, and Justin Lorsbach and wife Beth; his great-grandchildren Ivy Warren, Brandon Bushway, Hannah and Miranda Lorsbach and Amir Muhammad; his sister-in-law Leona Bennett; his brother-in-law Gordon Bashaw; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.
Visiting hours will be held at the Charlestown Memorial Chapel on 34 Main Street in Charlestown, NH on December 14th from 1 to 2 PM prior to the service. A memorial service will be held at the Charlestown Memorial Chapel at 2pm. Burial will follow at Pine Crest Cemetery in Charlestown with military honors.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Charlestown Senior Center, 223 Old Springfield Road, Charlestown, NH 03603 or to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1st Street, Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131 (http://www.parkinson.org/).
★ 2016 Copyright E-Ticker News of Claremont ★ Website by Bee Balm Productions ★