From the April 16, 2001 issue of The Country Chronicle
Lebanon, NH–Francis J. Bushee, 84, died Friday April 6, 2001 at the Brookside Nursing Home in White Rive Jct., VT following a long illness. He was born in Boston, MA June 11, 1916, a son of the late John & Celia (Callan) Bushee and moved to Lebanon, NH that same year. In November 1940 he joined Co.G. 172nd Infantry of the National Guard in Windsor, VT which became federalized in 1941. He stayed with Co.G. for the duration of WWII being stationed at Camp Blanding, FL; Camp Shelby, MS; Camp Perry and Fort Ord, CA; and three years of service in the South Pacific. He received a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantry Badge and other citations. He was discharged in August 1945 with the rank of Staff Sergeant.
He worked for 28 years as a mail clerk at the Veterans Administration in White River Jct., VT. Following his retirement he worked for five years as a Lebanon Police Crossing Guard on Hanover Street in Lebanon…a job he thoroughly enjoyed.
He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion of White River Jct., VT, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Hartford, VT Elks.
Survivors include his wife: Ruth (Dion) Bushee of Lebanon, NH whom he married in 1949; one daughter, Francine Lozeau of Enfield, NH; one son, Stephen Bushee of Wayland, MA; two sisters, Dorothy Andrews of Lebanon, NH and Margaret Germain of Leicester, MA; four grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by a brother, Joseph Bushee in 1978.
Friends called at the Ricker Funeral Home in Lebanon on Monday evening from 7-9 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Tuesday afternoon at 2 pm at the Sacred Heart Church in Lebanon. Burial will be at a later date in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.
The family requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to establish a scholarship fund at Lebanon High School and Mascoma Valley Regional High School be made to: The Francis J. Bushee Memorial Fund, c/o Mascoma Savings Bank, PO Box 435, Lebanon, NH 03766.