Lucille Caroline Busch, 97

Lucille Caroline Busch died after a short illness on June 15th, 2020 at Mala Strana, in New Prague. Lucy was born on December 13, 1922 in the Maxa family farm house just outside of New Prague.  She was the third daughter of four children born to Jacob and Anna Maxa. 

Lucy reminisced of her early days in which they used horses to plow the fields, getting picked up (along with her siblings and neighboring children) from school in the winter snow storms by her father Jake with the horse and sleigh.  Lucy enjoyed her school years and graduated from New Prague High School.  She talked of going to see and dance to the Lawrence Welk band in her late teens with her sisters and friends. Lucy met Eugene (Gene) Busch of St. Benedict, Minnesota, for the first time at a dance hall in Heidelberg, Minnesota.  They fell in love and married on September 5, 1945.

Lucy’s world revolved around caring for her children and Gene for much of her life.  As a good Czech woman, Lucy made delicious baked rolls and kolaches.  Her children remember racing to get home to smell and eat the freshly baked rolls after their school day. Gene and Lucy made a loving and formidable team, and for years reupholstered furniture, planted large vegetable gardens, butchered and dressed chickens for the freezer, and made sauerkraut, pickles, jam, and took on countless other projects that required energy and creativity.

Lucy, along with Gene, enjoyed their various pets over the years, baking, cooking, camping, fishing, traveling, and spending time with their family and friends.  Gene and Lucy also cherished several trips to their ancestor’s birth countries, Germany and Czechoslovakia.  Lucy lived the last seven years of her life at Mala Strana, where she continued to enjoy her flowers, bird-watching, reading, and of course her children, grandchildren, and the various dogs they would bring to visit. She was also blessed to have her two sisters, Clara and Dorothy also at Mala Strana at the same time for several years.

Lucy was a life-long member of St. Wenceslaus Church.  Lucy lived her faith in her daily life, through her kindness in both words and actions, treating others as she wanted to be treated, and not judging others. 

Lucille is survived by her seven children: Nancy Buczek of Baltimore, MD, Jim (Linda) Busch of Loretto, MN, Dennis (RoxAnne) Busch of New Prague, MN, Susan (Dale) Speetzen of Apple Valley, MN, Kevin (Rachel) Busch of Mankato, MN, Marty (Sue) Busch of Red Wing, MN, and Michael (Mary) Busch of New Prague, MN.  14 Grandchildren: Matt (Lauren) Ballinger, Drew (Michelle) Ballinger, Melissa (Andy) Dahl, Mindy (Drew) Hansen, Dawn (Karl) Busch-Manske, Stefan Busch, and Jackie (Corey) Martinson, David (Melissa) Speetzen, Molly Smedsrud, Sarah Busch, Josh (Elise) Busch, Anna Busch, Emma Busch, and Ada Busch.  She is also survived by 16 great-grandchildren.

Lucy was preceded in death by her loving husband Eugene, one grandchild, Emmy Smedsrud, Lucy’s sisters, her brother, and in-laws: Clara (Felix) Kohn, and Dorothy (Al) Koppi, and her brother Jake (Audrey) Maxa.

Private family Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, June 19, 2020 at 11:00 AM at St. Wenceslaus Church with Father Eugene Theisen officiating.  Mass will be live-streamed on npcatholic.org.  Burial will take place at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery following Mass.

The family would like to thank the staff of Mala Strana for the wonderful care Lucy received during her residence.  bruzekfuneralhome.com