Obituaries / LJWorld.com

Obituaries

Funeral services for James R. Bush, 45, Lawrence, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lawrence Free Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Bush died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010, at Shawnee Mission Medical Center after a sudden heart attack while umpiring baseball in Johnson County.
He was born Aug. 21, 1965, in Somerville, N.J., the son of Daniel and Dixie Norma Langston Bush.
Mr. Bush moved to Lawrence with his wife and children in December 2002. He worked in sales and marketing for Maceli’s. He was senior pastor at First Southern Baptist Church in Lawrence from 2003 to 2007. Since then, he has served as an interim pastor at First Baptist Church in Bellevue, Neb. Earlier in his career, he served First Baptist Church in Pinckneyville, Ill., First Baptist Church in Union City, Tenn., The Cheat Lake Baptist Church in Morgantown, W.Va., and First Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Fla.
Mr. Bush earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 1987 and a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., in 1992. He had begun doctoral studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., in 2006.
He was a member of First Southern Baptist Church in Lawrence, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence Rotary Club, where he was a former club president.
Mr. Bush was a former candidate for Lawrence City Commission. He was a certified coach and had worked as a volunteer for the Salvation Army bell ringing and the United Way Day of Caring. He was also a co-founder of Passport Inc., a camping experience for youth. He officiated at area youth football, basketball and baseball games.
He married Sandra “Sandy” Knight on Aug. 22, 1992, in Florence, Ala. She survives, of the home.
Other survivors include a daughter, Mary Esther Bush, of the home; two sons, James Jr. and Langston, both of the home; a brother, Dan, Boston; and a sister, Sharon Bush, Englewood, N.J.
The family will meet friends from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Warren-McElwain Mortuary.
The family suggests memorials to the Educational Fund for the Children of James and Sandy Bush, sent in care of the mortuary, 120 W. 13th St., Lawrence, KS 66044.
Online condolences may be sent at warrenmcelwain .com.