Agnes Annette (Dolan) Busby

Agnes Annette  Busby, 88, of Little Rock, passed away Feb. 28 at Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Little Rock after being diagnosed with COPD. She was born Jan. 8, 1935 in Memphis.

Annette is predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Jack Busby, who died last year at age 93; her parents, Mary ("Honey") and Eugene Dolan of Memphis; her in-laws Leontine and Eugene Busby of Maryville, Mo.; her sisters Jo Lynn Schwantz of Atlanta; Virginia Walton of Stuttgart and Mary Jean Dolan of Memphis and her son-in-law Paul C. Barton.

She is survived by her four children, Kirk Busby of Little Rock; Mary Ann Barton of Williamsburg, Va.; John Busby (Debbie) of Manhattan Beach and Healdsburg, Calif.; Jodi Busby (Asa) of Woodstock, N.Y., grandchildren Katherine Barton, Kendall Busby and Lucinda Jennings, sister-in-law Mary Lou Benning of Atlanta, Ga. and numerous nieces and nephews.

Annette (or “Poochie” as she was known by family and friends) had a wonderful sense of humor, was a Southern belle beauty, enjoyed listening to Elvis and was always fun to be around. She always put her family first.

She grew up the youngest of the four Dolan girls, on Oliver Avenue in Memphis, attending St. Agnes Academy, where she was a spelling bee champ and made lifelong friends. A love of animals started with her pet goat and horse at her grandmother's farm in Memphis. Later in life, her home was always filled with dogs and cats in the household, including her favorite, Lhasa Apso Trinket.

After graduation, she worked as a receptionist for Cargill, where she first spoke over the phone with Jack, a commodities broker, who she eventually met in person. After a short but exciting career as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines, she and Jack were engaged and married in Memphis at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Annette and Jack moved to Minneapolis, where Jack continued to work for Cargill at their headquarters. While raising their four children (who ice skated, built snowmen and went sledding in the ice and snow), she also arranged bridge parties with new neighborhood friends. In 1969, Jack came home one day and asked Annette if she’d like to move down South. They weren’t heading back to Memphis — the family (and their dog and cat) moved to Lima, Peru, where Annette learned to flamenco dance, made lifelong friends and enjoyed weekends at the beach.

After returning to the states, Annette moved with her family to Houston, where Jack worked as vice president for Zapata Haynie. On weekends, they could be found enjoying the sun on their boat (named “Poochie”) in Galveston and along the Texas coast. They enjoyed traveling to London, Las Vegas, Chile, Mexico and a return visit to see friends in Lima. They enjoyed raising Brangus cattle at their ranch in Quitman, Arkansas and eventually retired to Arkansas.

Annette oversaw years of family fun at birthday parties, swimming and tennis lessons, Brownies, Cub Scouts, cross country, hockey, soccer, football, slumber parties, driving lessons, proms, graduations and weddings. She enjoyed cooking and baking and made her signature lasagna every Christmas Eve.

After celebrating her 88th birthday with flowers and phone calls in January, she enjoyed visits with her children, sharing laughs, family photos and wonderful memories.

Mom we will miss you and always love you!

Arrangements by Arkansas Cremation, 10515 W Markham St, Ste B1, Little Rock, AR 72205. 

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