David Clair Bush
Our beloved husband, dad, grampa, and great-grampa David Clair Bush, 92, of Boise passed away on Sunday, November 16, 2014 at St. Luke’s Hospital due to complications of pneumonia. He was born November 6, 1922 in Malad City, Idaho, the only son of David L. and Lona (Daniels) Bush. He was raised in Malad, and also spent years of his youth in Boise, Nampa, and Burley. He graduated from Burley High School in 1941. His family moved back to Boise, and he entered Boise Junior College. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and was activated in 1943. We are especially proud of his service in the signal corps in the China-Burma-India Theater of WWII from 1945 to 1946.
He married Norma T. Field, his high school sweetheart and partner in life, on May 8, 1944. They had 70 wonderful years together, and four beautiful daughters were born to that union: Su-zee, Barb, Cheri, and Linda. After returning from the war, he got his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Idaho and attained a PhD in chemistry from Oregon State College in 1952. At Oregon State he was an active member of Sigma Xi, an honorary society for sci-graduation he moved his family to Milwaukee, WI
where he was employed in the research labs at Pittsburgh Burgh Plate Glass (PPG).
Soon he felt the call of Idaho and entrepreneurship. He moved his growing family back to Boise and founded Idaho Chemical Industries with his father and Cecil Olson, another ldahoan he met at PPG. They successfully maintained the company for over 35 years, fabricating fiberglass roofing panels and other plastic products as one of the primary suppliers of such materials in the mountain west and western prairie states.
He joined the Boise Rotary Club in 1957 serving as president in 1983-84; he was a member of Elks Lodge #310 and also of the Boise Executives Association for which he was president in 1984. He was a life member of the Bronco Athletic Association and enjoyed cheering the teams at many football and basketball games over the years.
In his leisure time, golf and fishing were his passions. He joined Hillcrest Country Club in 1967. Clair loved playing golf with his friends – and it was as much about the camaraderie as the game. He taught his daughters and several of his grandchildren to fish, and spent many long enjoyable hours exploring trout waters with them. His failing eyesight caused him to give up these activities long before he was ready. He then filled the time with listening to books on tape, favoring publications about the history of Idaho and the West. Clair also always enjoyed watching, and feeding quail and other birds in his yard. Throughout his life, he enjoyed trips and cruises with his wife, and often also with friends and family, to all parts of the world. But he loved the mountains, streams, and lakes of central Idaho best of all.
He will be dearly missed, for he was always a truly good man – whether in business, friendship, or raising a family. He often told his daughters to “do the right thing” – a motto he tried to live by. Anyone who knew Clair, knew a true gentleman. He was a devoted son to his parents, and especially to his mother after his dad had died. He fully embraced his equal partnership with his wife in raising their family and maintaining their home.
Clair is survived by his wife, Norma; his four daughters: K. Suzanne (Kirk) Broders of Boise; Barbara K. (Richard) Dahl of Kailua, HI and McCall, ID; Cheryl D. (Ron) Abbott of Boise; and Linda Claire Bush of Lawrence, KS and McCall, ID; nine grandchildren: Christopher Broders, Matthew (Kietra) Broders, Steven Dahl, Sarah (Morgan) McKeown, Jane Dahl, Jennifer (Roger) Stephenson, Megan (Jeff) Bunt, Jessica (Bill) Hoffman, Andrea (Orlando) Silva; and 16 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents. There’s been some discussion of whether Linda’s cat, Maude, should be included in the list of family survivors since Clair always asked after her.
Services were held Saturday, November 22, at 1:00 p.m. at Relyea Funeral Chapel, 318 N. Latah St., Boise.