Holy Family parishioners remember Father Bush

By Krysten Hager
VIEW Contributor
GRAND BLANC — The Church of the Holy Family in Grand Blanc has been serving its parishioners for more than 60 years, and since the beginning, Father John Bush served the membership and led efforts for expanding both the church and Holy Family School.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Father Bush’s death: He died on May 24, 2002, at Genesys Hospice.

“At the end he always maintained his sense of humor. He was a positive kind of person and he always tried to help others see the positive side of (a bad) situation,” said his friend, Joe Dunn.
John Bush was born in 1913 and ordained a priest in 1939. He became the founding pastor of Holy Family in 1946. The church celebrated its first Mass on Aug. 4, 1964.

“Father Bush was forthright and very understanding. He listened to people’s problems, and he had a lot of empathy,” said Dunn, a long-time parishioner at Holy Family Church.

Principal Carla Corrado, who has worked at the school since 1969, said Bush was a strong leader and enjoyed interacting with the students.

“He had the best interests of the parish and school at heart,” Corrado said, remembering that Bush would pop into classrooms to chat with the students and donned a pair of roller skates when the students went to Rollhaven for field trips.

“He definitely had a real love for and was a great supporter of Holy Family School.”
Holy Family students will remember Father Bush in their prayers on Thursday, Corrado said.

She said she remembers Father Bush visiting the school’s television broadcast room to appear on school programming, and times when he would call students to the church altar to quiz them on their multiplication tables.

“It definitely kept the kids on their toes,” Corrado laughed.

In the early days, the parish didn’t have a lot of money or a large staff. Bush became the church’s financial manager and was able to gather a group of volunteers to help him run and organize the church.

“He’s responsible for everything you see there, except the addition to the school in the last few years. His efforts and the parishioners help is what built what you see now,” said Dunn. “He knew how to make a dollar stretch.”

The parish center now bears the name Father Bush Parish Center.

Joan Slater first met Father Bush when he baptized her niece. “My sister and brother-in-law introduced my dad and me to Father. Every time my dad came to Mass, Father would make a point of coming over to talk to him. It was like he was greeting an old friend, and he made us feel very welcome in the church.”

“I think he’d like to be remembered as a strong defender of the faith,” said Dunn. “He trusted in the Lord, had deep faith, but also put a lot of work behind what he did to ensure success. He was a hard-working priest.”

The Church of the Holy Family is located at 11824 S. Saginaw St. in Grand Blanc.