GREENWOOD
This is the story of Linda Ann Bush. Linda was an amazing woman that is loved, missed, and will always be cherished. She was welcomed to the world by her loving parent’s Gloria Pearl Armstrong Watson and the late Joseph Watson as well as older sister Susie Watson on August 27, 1948 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana. Eight years later they all embraced her little sister Cathy Watson.
During her childhood years, Linda was very athletic and always played sports. It was a usual occurrence for her to break her glasses and repair them with wads of tape, while telling her sisters not to tell her father. The family home, specifically the basement became a popular place for the neighborhood kids to get together. Linda and her sisters would regularly have the basement full; playing records and dancing.
Linda’s vibrant personality continued to shine during her high school years. She attended Garfield High School and was a proud member of the Rhythmettes. She was always the envy of the girls at the school dances because her mother (Gloria) made her beautifully elegant gowns. Linda was a very outgoing and diverse young lady. It wasn’t uncommon for her to be at a dance one evening and racing cars with the boys the next. She had a 1966 blue mustang that she cherished.
After graduation, Linda jumped right into the work force joining Eastern Express. Her spirited personality continued to flourish and drew people to her. At the office, she created a persona for herself named “Alice Gooch” and made her rounds in the organization every day. While working at the company she became close friends with Brenda Bush. They even traveled to Las Vegas and saw her lifelong favorite performer, Frank Sinatra.
Little did Linda know at the time, but the friendship with Brenda had something more in store for her future. The girls moved to Indianapolis and rented a town house. Shortly after they moved in, Brenda’s younger brother, Terry, dropped by to visit. Terry didn’t waste any time and asked Linda out for a date. They hit it off quickly and their relationship blossomed.
On December 17th, 1976, Linda married her soulmate Terry Wayne Bush. They initially resided in Sheridan, IN, where they began their family of three children, Deidra, Audra, and John. In 1983, they moved to Greenwood, IN, where they lived for 34 years right next door to their best friends, Sydney and Al Chilton.
There was nothing more important to Linda Ann than family. She provided tirelessly for three kids, who definitely weren’t the easiest to raise, while working a full-time job and managing the everyday household tasks. In 1985, she took a position at Kroger in the deli, then found her passion working for the Indiana University Optometry Clinic as the office manager. She took great pride in running the center, while making lifelong friends and touching many lives. Linda especially found great joy in helping veterans and the homeless when they visited the clinic. Linda excelled at juggling all of these responsibilities while never losing her quick wit.
In 1997, Linda became a grandmother with the birth of her first granddaughter, Alicia. Not even two years later came her second granddaughter, Ashlynn, and by 2001, yet another, Alexis. She was absolutely tickled to be a grandma, but she wasn’t done. In 2012, a fourth granddaughter, Parker, was welcomed to her group of girls. Linda relished the time spent with them and spoiled them rotten. She found amusement in the complaints of her daughters, about her granddaughters, who gave them the same grief that Linda experienced when she was raising them. Linda would say with a lighthearted smirk and playful laugh, “I hope they give you back what you gave me – It’s the ‘Mother’s Curse.'”
Linda and Terry always worked as a team. They taught their children the rewards of working hard, but also the value in enjoying life. While Terry clocked countless hours in his investment to grow their company, Linda worked tirelessly in managing the eye clinic and raising their three kids at home. Regardless, the two filled all the hours in between with laughs and highly-valued family time.
Christmas was always Linda’s favorite holiday. She took great joy in hosting the family’s annual Christmas event. Each year, she generously gathered everyone’s lengthy wish lists and spent an incalculable number of hours finding, buying, and ever-so-neatly wrapping the ever-growing pile of gifts. The mountainous pile would grow so large, in fact, to the point of nearly engulfing her beautifully adorned Christmas tree. But one of the best parts of the evening came at the end, when Terry revealed the most amazing, stunning, and breathtaking jewelry for the most worthy recipient, Linda. Everyone loved to pass around the precious metals and awe at Linda’s jubilant reaction and radiating beauty as she tried them on.
In 2007, Linda retired from the clinic and opened a new chapter of her life. She was finally able to settle down a bit and relax. Linda filled her time with hobbies, family, and friends. She had always kept in touch with good high school friends and went on annual trips with them. In addition, she made a lot more time to head over to the casino to play the slots and won more than she lost. Everyone knew if Linda and Terry couldn’t be found they were at the casino or a car show. Her passion for cars was revived when Terry bought her a purple corvette. Of course, Linda had to coordinate and would be noticed cruising around with her purple hat, clothing, and jewelry.
Linda appreciated the little things in life and lived it to the fullest. She loved to travel whether it be camping with the family or taking a cruise. On one summer vacation, when she was 8 months pregnant with John, she watched her father-in-law step in a small boat and it sunk. She was sitting on a rock and laughed so hard, we thought she would go into labor.
Linda enjoyed movies from every genre, romance to science fiction. She loved gardening and working in her flower bed. She especially loved her weeping cherry tree. Music was another of her passions, especially Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. When it came to food, Linda loved lobster and shrimp. Red “Robster” as she referred to it was her favorite place to go locally. Additionally, she enjoyed her sweets, you could almost always find a box of Fannie Mae butter creams and turtles next to her favorite chair at home. Linda was also an animal lover, one of her favorite activities was spoiling her cats rotten feeding them treats and letting them “Paw” at her meals as she kindly fed them morsels from her plate.
For the last 11 years of her life, Linda fought and won several battles with cancer. Her doctors credited her success to her positive attitude and strong determination. Even while battling the disease, she continually reached out to comfort and help friends who were afflicted with the similar illness’. Linda made it a priority to help others “face it head on” and stay positive. She was truly a selfless individual. After a long, strong battle, the cancer took her from us on September 28th, 2017.
Linda was a very strong-willed individual and would do anything for her friends and family. Her amazing sense of humor brought laughter and joy to everyone. She put the needs of others above her own. Linda was a kind and generous soul to the many people she knew and touched. This world was a much better place with her in it. She lives on within her family, friends and so many others she touched in so many different ways.
Linda leaves her beloved husband Terry; her daughters Deidra Burns and Audra Carrel; and son John Bush. She also leaves her sisters Susan Moore and Cathy Spetter. She is also survived by her mother, Gloria Pearl Watson and mother-in-law, Wilma K. Bush. And the joy of her life, her four granddaughters, Alicia, Ashlynn, and Alexis Burns and Parker Carrel.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at G.H. Herrmann Funeral Home in Greenwood, from 4 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the same location within The Gardens at Olive Branch at 1 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, 2017. Memorial gifts in Linda’s memory can be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (www.bvrf.org), 60 East 56th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022 or the Humane Society of Indianapolis (www.indyhumane.org), 7929 N. Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268.
Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.ghherrmann.com
