Everett Bussey

(From Clark Funeral Home)

EVERETT E. BUSSEY, JR., WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 25, 1938 IN COLORADO SPRINGS, TX, THE FIRST SON OF EVERETT E. BUSSEY, SR., AND THELMA MAY (JOHNSON) BUSSEY. HE ENTERED INTO REST ON MAY 14, 2024 AT FREEMAN HEALTH SYSTEMS AT THE AGE OF 85.

EVERETT MOVED TO THE CAMP CROWDER AREA OF NEOSHO WITH HIS FAMILY AS A CHILD IN 1951, WHERE THEY PURCHASED LAND FROM THE CAMP TO ESTABLISH A FARM. HIS LOVE OF FAMILY AND FARMING WERE FIRMLY ESTABLISHED DURING THIS PERIOD, WHERE HE LEARNED TO HELP HIS FAMILY ON THEIR FARM. HIS LOVE FOR CATTLE AND FARMING WOULD CONTINUE THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE UNTIL HIS ILLNESS IN EARLY 2024.

A GRADUATE OF STELLA HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 1957, STAYING IN TOUCH WITH HIS CLASSMATES AT ANNUAL REUNIONS WAS A HIGHLIGHT FOR HIM. DURING HIGH SCHOOL, EVERETT PLAYED SPORTS, EXCELLING IN BASEBALL, WHICH BECAME ANOTHER LIFELONG LOVE HE CONTINUED. AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, HE EVEN MADE HIS DREAM OF PLAYING MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, PLAYING ONE SEASON FOR THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS BEFORE A KNEE INJURY FORCED HIM OUT.

HE RETURNED TO THE AREA, BEGINNING A CAREER AT FORD MOTOR COMPANY IN KANSAS CITY, MO. DURING THIS TIME HE MET HIS FUTURE WIFE, JANA LEE CARPENTER. THEY WERE UNITED IN MARRIAGE ON FEBRUARY 5, 1960 IN KANSAS CITY. SOON AFTERWARD, HIS TWO DAUGHTERS WERE BORN, TINA AND DEBORAH, WHOM HE LOVED AND CARED FOR DEEPLY. IN 1968, EVERETT MOVED TO THE FARM FOR THE LAST TIME, WHERE HE RAISED HIS FAMILY AND CONTINUED HIS LIFELONG LOVE FOR CATTLE AND FARMING.

WHILE RAISING HIS FAMILY AND FARMING, EVERETT CONTINUED HIS CAREER BY BECOMING ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE HIRED AT THE NEWLY ESTABLSHED LA-Z-BOY MIDWEST IN NEOSHO. HE WORKED HIS WAY UP INTO MANAGEMENT BEFORE RETIRING TO CONTINUE HIS WORK ON THE FARM.

AFTER RETIREMENT, HE HAD THE GREATEST PLEASURE IN LIFE, BECOMING A REMARKABLE GRANDFATHER TO HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, SARAH AND GRANDSON, BLAKE. HIS STRONG BUT SOFT LOVE MADE HIM ONE OF THE BEST GRANDFATHER'S ONE COULD ASK FOR. HIS INFLUENCE AND LOVE CONTINUE TO GUIDE THEM EVERY DAY. SPENDING TIME ON THE FARM WITH THEM WAS SPECIAL TO HIM, A TRADITION HE WOULD CONTINUE WHEN HIS GREAT-GRANDSONS WERE BORN. HE WAS A CONSTANT ARM OF SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT IN THE LIVES OF HIS GRANDCHILDREN AND GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN. HE WILL BE FOREVER MISSED BY THEM.

WHEN HE WASN’T SPENDING TIME WITH HIS FAMILY, EVERETT SPENT TIME WITH HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS FROM RELATIONSHIPS HE HAD DEVELOPED OVER MANY DECADES. HE ENJOYED BEING AROUND PEOPLE, OFFERING A HELPING HAND TO THOSE IN NEED AND MAKING OTHERS SMILE. HE ESPECIALLY ENJOYED SPENDING TIME ON THE FARM WITH HIS FRIENDS, WORKING CATTLE OR IN HIS LATER YEARS ENJOYING A KANSAS CITY CHIEFS GAME.

 

EVERETT IS SURVIVED BY A FAMILY WHO LOVED HIM DEEPLY, INCLUDING HIS WIFE OF SIXTY FOUR YEARS, JAN, OF THE HOME. ADDITIONAL SURVIVORS INCLUDE HIS TWO DAUGHTERS, TINA HIERHOLZER AND HUSBAND, DAN OF NEOSHO; AND DEBBIE BUSSEY, DONNA HAMBLIN, AND JUSTIN HAMBLIN OF REPUBLIC, MO. ONE GRANDAUGHTER, SARAH HIERHOLZER-DASPIT AND HUSBAND, MATT OF NW ARKANSAS. ONE GRANDSON, BLAKE T HIERHOLZER, OF NEOSHO, MO. THREE GREAT-GRANDSONS, LANCE, GRAYSON, AND JACKSON DASPIT. TWO BROTHERS, ERVIN BUSSEY AND BILL ANDREWS, BOTH OF NEOSHO.

HE IS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HIS PARENTS AND ONE BROTHER.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, THE FAMILY HAS REQUESTED DONATIONS BE MADE TO THE DONOR'S CHARITY OF CHOICE OR THE NORTHWEST ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. DONATIONS MAY BE MAILED TO CLARK FUNERAL HOMES, P.O. BOX 66, NEOSHO, MO, 64850.