Kemp Bush | Obituaries | leader-call.com

Kemp Bush, 92, of 279 Springhill Road, passed away Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023 at Covington County Hospital. 

Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Memory Chapel Funeral Home. A funeral service will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Lebanon Baptist Church in Jones County with burial in Springhill Cemetery. The Rev. Ken Riley and the Rev. Harold Floyd will officiate. 

Born in Jones County on Dec. 18, 1930, Kemp was the youngest child of the late Cicero Gaines and Lizzie Bush. He served stateside in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict and later in the Army, where he was stationed in Germany and El Paso, Texas. He was a lifelong and faithful member of Lebanon Baptist Church.

 After working many years at Masonite Corporation, a major strike motivated Kemp to work on the farm full-time, building two chicken houses and raising cattle and hogs. He had worked with honey bees as a hobby for years, but then figured out how to turn his hobby into a commercial honey-bee operation. Working with bees allowed Kemp and Doris to make frequent trips to Wisconsin and to live there several summers raising bees, harvesting honey and making new friends. A farmer never retires.

Kemp enjoyed helping people learn how to raise bees. What he really enjoyed was going fishing and taking others with him. He particularly liked fishing in Fitler Lake, the Mississippi River and saltwater fishing near Venice, La., and staying in his “condo.” If he wasn’t fishing, he was talking about going fishing or eating fish!

In addition to his parents, Kemp was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years Doris Parker Bush; his wife of four years MaeRee Thompson Bush; seven brothers and sisters, Margret, Berneice, Maxie, Mazie, Meredith, Conwee and Libby; and granddaughter Kara Grace Boleware.

Kemp is survived by his son Danny (Sarah) Bush and daughter Susan (Mitch) Boleware; grandchildren Adam (Sandy) Bush, Amanda (Trey) Warnock, Ashley (Andrew) Wroth, Andrew Bush and Kyle (Caroline) Boleware; great-grandchildren Caroline, Elijah, Paul, Daniel Kemp, Violet, and soon-to-be baby boy Boleware; numerous nephews and nieces; and his sweetheart Violet Holifield.

The family thanks all the many people who have visited him over the past few years during his declining health. The family says a special thank you to the members of Lebanon Baptist Church and the many nurses for their love, tenderness and care.

These words sum up his life: optimistic, faithful, hardworking, fisherman, husband, father and friend.

To sign the online guestbook, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

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