Mary Busse

Mary Katherine Busse, 73, passed away Monday, June 25, 2018, surrounded by her family and three puppies, at her home in Jackson.

Born April 2, 1945, in Minot, North Dakota, to Ben and Gladys Lorenzen Busse, Mary was the third child and oldest daughter.

She was a 1963 graduate of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, and a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving honorably from Sept. 26, 1966, to Sept. 25, 1969.

Mary Katherine started college and began Army training at Brook Army Hospital in San Antonio. In 1966, she transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., working there until her discharge in 1969.

In 1971, she became employed at the National Institute of Health, and in 1984 she graduated from Northern Illinois University, briefly teaching school in Springfield, Missouri. In 1986, she returned to the National Institutes of Health, retiring in 2005.

Upon moving to Jackson, she became a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. She volunteered at Jackson Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry and as a court-appointed special advocate.

Loving survivors include two nieces who she raised as daughters, Emily (Kendal) Green and their son, Cooper Lee Green of Jackson, and Bonnie Busse of Jackson; nine siblings, John "Jack" Busse of Jackson, James (Jan) Busse of Conroe, Texas, Thomas (Jo Ann) Busse of West Bend, Wisconsin, Margaret Yoel of Norfolk, Connecticut, Patricia (Steve) Martin of Harvard, Colleen (Russ) Burkart of Rockford, Illinois, Dr. Kathleen (Dr. Douglas) Grove of Jonesboro, Illinois, Ben Busse of Harvard, Illinois, and Theresa Foss of Chicago Ridge, Illinois; 31 additional nieces and nephews; and her canine pals, Snickers, Lt. Dan and Cookie.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 5:45 p.m. Thursday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. St. Ann's Sodality will lead a rosary at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, immediately followed by military honors.

Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson, with the Rev. Paco Gordillo as celebrant. Inurnment will be at a later date at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to Immaculate Conception Catholic School or Jackson Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.