Jack Busby

Jack Lee Busby, 93, of Little Rock, passed away Feb. 1 at Arkansas Hospice’ Ottenheimer Inpatient Center at St. Vincent Hospital after suffering a stroke Jan. 11. He was born Jan. 2, 1929 in Maryville, Mo.

He is predeceased by his parents Eugene and Leontine Busby of Maryville, Mo., his in-laws Eugene and Mary Dolan of Memphis and his son-in-law Paul C. Barton. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Annette and children Kirk Busby of Little Rock; Mary Ann Barton of Williamsburg, Va.; John Busby (Debbie) of Manhattan Beach and Healdsburg, Calif. and Jodi Busby (Asa) of Woodstock, N.Y. and grandchildren Katherine Barton of Washington, D.C.; Kendall Busby of Healdsburg, Calif. and Lucinda Jennings of Woodstock, N.Y., as well as his sister Mary Lou Benning of Atlanta, Ga. and numerous nieces and nephews.

From his rural roots to worldly globetrotting, Jack was a cowboy, diplomat and devoted father with a great lust for life. He grew up on the family farm in Maryville, Mo., hunting and fishing and riding his pony to a one-room schoolhouse. He graduated from Maryville High School (where he played football for the Maryville Spoofhounds) and the University of Missouri, where he was a member of FarmHouse fraternity.

After serving as an officer in the Air Force stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., he became a commodities broker for Cargill. He and Annette were married in Memphis and moved to Minneapolis, where they raised their family. The Busbys moved in 1970 to Lima, Peru, where Jack managed Cargill's fishmeal operation. He was lauded by the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru for his work that included planning a 4th of July festival that featured lawn games and fireworks at the children's school, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After returning to Minneapolis in 1974, the family later moved to Houston, where Jack accepted a position as a vice president for Zapata Haynie.

Jack was a rancher, raising Brangus cattle on the family ranch in Quitman, Ark., and loved fishing from his boat (named "Poochie," Annette's nickname) in Galveston and at Greers Ferry Lake and Lake Maumelle in Arkansas. He enjoyed traveling with Annette to London, Las Vegas, Chile, Mexico and a return visit to Lima. After retirement he kept up with commodities, grilled steaks on the weekends, talked politics, watched Razorback football and kept up with friends and family on Facebook. Day to day, he enjoyed handling afternoon cocktail hour and morning coffee duties. He celebrated his 93rd birthday Jan. 2, sharing laughs, memories and family photos with his children and grandchildren.

A private service will be held at a later date at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4000 N. Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock.

Cremation Arrangements Entrusted to Arkansas Cremation. www.ArkansasCremation.com.

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