Gilbert "Gil" Benedict Bush

Gilbert Benedict Bush, born October 24, 1927 and died March 15, 2020, was a direct descendant of Andre' LaCroix and his wife, the widow, Serot, both of the French 500, who in approximately 1790, settled in what became Gallipolis, Ohio. Gilbert (Gil) was a member of the Grace Methodist Church and at 92 years old, was the last of his generation in his direct family line to expire. His family history is extensive.

Gilbert Benedict Bush was the son of Gilbert Pumphery Bush and Mildred (Benedict) Bush of Gallipolis, Ohio, (Mildred's maiden surname was Benedict and she had no middle name). Mildred Benedict was the daughter of Charles Sumner Benedict, the Olympic Rifle team Gold Medal Winner of 1908. Major General George Elial Bush was Gilbert's uncle. Gilbert's other Uncle, Thomas Lloyd Bush married Louise Hornbrook, both of whom wrote the book the Times of the Hornbrooks, tracing their family back to the year 1473, including Staff Sargent John Paul Hornbrook, recipient of Bronze Star and Unit Citation from President Roosevelt, personal Citations from former Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, and Commendations from Generals Eisenhower, Patton, and Thompson and the French Medal of Honor from General Charles DeGaulle.

Gilbert Benedict Bush was preceded in death by his two siblings, both sisters, an older sister Alice Jean Bush, and a younger sister Elizabeth Bush (Elizabeth had no middle name). Alice Jean Bush became a nurse and worked late into her life. Elizabeth Bush married Paul E. Butler and gave birth to Carolyn Butler, Edward (Eddie) Butler, and Paula Butler all of Crown City, Ohio. Gilbert married, and was preceded in death by, Sara Lou Schafer (Sara is spelled without the last letter 'h'), who originally from Marietta, Ohio, was the daughter of Maud May Marlow(e), a descendant in the line of Shakespeare's affiliate, English playwright and poet, Christopher Marlowe and George James Schafer, a descendant from Prussian royalty that escaped the wars into Sweden.

Gilbert Benedict Bush and Sara Lou Schafer had their marriage ceremony in Marietta on November 28, 1948, and gave birth to James Gilbert Bush on December 9, 1949. Injuries at birth prevented any further children. Sara Lou Schafer, who was a graduate of the Holzer School of Nursing and served as an Emergency Room Registered Nurse at the Holzer Medical Center for many years, had three siblings, James (Jimmy) Schafer, Jacob (Jake) Schafer and Mary E. (Mary-Lib) Schafer (who married Rod Fenton of the Fenton Glass Works family). Gilbert Benedict Bush's only child, his son, James Gilbert Bush, married Katherine Lee Kearney and they had three children, Brian James, David Alexander, and Erica Lee Bush; divorced, and then James married Yvonne Lynett Henry (Yvonne's middle name Lynett is spelled without the second letter 'e', and her maiden surname was Sudduth), gaining two stepchildren, Jules Arron Henry and Darian Ruthie Elizabeth Henry (with two middle names). David Alexander Bush committed to Mary Anne Hood in marriage and Darian R. E. Henry committed to Isaiah Anthony Walker in marriage. Erica Lee Bush married Wesley Ryan Hunt and together they had two children, Piper Lee Hunt and Liam Edgar Hunt. Brian James Bush married Sarah Leonard and together they had two children, Aurelia Kimmel Bush and Miles Brian Bush, representing the last of Sara Lou and Gilbert Benedict Bush's direct decedents as of this date.

Gilbert Benedict Bush graduated from Gallia Academy High school in 1945 and joined the Army. Gilbert was a WWII Army veteran, who after the war was transferred to the Army Band, and in the later part of his service, was trained in bookkeeping. One of his last duties was to ensure prisoners of war in the Western (European) Front received all their deserved back pay.

Gilbert Benedict Bush was the 3rd generation in succession to own/operate the Gallipolis Ice Company, founded in 1901, which was one of the first entities to bring mechanical refrigeration to the Midwest. He expanded the Gallipolis Ice Company from a partnership to a corporation with related/satellite operations in Athens and Marietta, Ohio and Ravenswood/Parkersburg/Vienna and Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia and other outlets and ultimately Manteo, North Carolina. He was elected President of the Ohio Association of Ice Industries and was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Great Lakes Ice Association. In the latter parts of his ice business years, he consulted for several other eastern USA ice companies, from Ohio to Louisiana. After eventually selling the Gallipolis Ice Company, then GICO, Inc., he formed his own computer-oriented company, Preferred Systems, Inc.

On a personal level, in his younger years, he enjoyed boat racing, water skiing and outdoor sports and later focused on fishing, primarily in the Ohio River, the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the New River in West Virginia. He was an excellent trombone player (and while in the Army band at one duty station was backup 2nd string trombonist for the Tommy Dorsey Band), a certified welder, an amateur electrician, and a licensed ham radio operator and instructor who taught ham radio to Civil Defense staff, and expanded into DX communications which allowed him at times to facilitate communications between families and their soldiers stationed in primitive remote duty locations. Later in life, focusing more on Preferred Systems, he advanced from ham radio to computer building and programming, providing computer maintenance and financial programs for local businesses. Also in his later years, he enjoyed working on engines and vehicles, and he and Charlie Curnutte, with occasional help from Mike Eblin, put an Oldsmobile 403 V-8 and a Buick Riviera front end in a 1986 Winnebago LeSharo, which then humorously became Gil's Le' Riviera.

Memorial services will be conducted Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 1:00 PM in Grace Methodist Church, 2nd Ave, Gallipolis, Ohio with Rev. Ray Kane officiating. Friends and family will be received at the church Saturday 12:00 to 1:00 PM.

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