Obituary for Beverly Bush

Bush (Koerber), Beverly A., age 91, passed away on March 20, 2024, in Champlin, Minnesota. "Bee" was born in Minneapolis on June 2, 1932, but was raised in the McGregor/Tamarack area of Minnesota.

She spent sixty-two years in the community, opening Bush's Woods Art Gallery with her husband, Marshall, before moving to Tennessee to enjoy retirement. There, they designed and built a beautiful home on a hillside where they could enjoy the view of the Appalachian Mountains.

In 2000, they returned to Minnesota, where she enjoyed feeding and caring for her eleven children and twenty-nine grandchildren.

Bee was a talented seamstress, an artist, a quilter and knitter, a woodworker, and a dedicated caregiver to family and friends. She participated in local musical and theater groups and sang weekly at the Holy Family Catholic Church in McGregor. She was a self-taught pianist who loved to sing. Bee sewed over 10,000 fleece bears to donate to local hospitals, homeless shelters, care centers, and schools. She made hundreds of quilts for families in need and lap robes for friends in wheelchairs. She knit hundreds of stocking caps to distribute to shelters and families in the community. Thousands of "painted rocks" decorate windowsills around Minnesota and are found by children wandering local parks. She also painted dozens of pictures highlighting the beautiful vistas of Tennessee and Northern Minnesota.

Bee made friends wherever she went. She was so grateful to the caregivers at her Sr. Living Residence for the kindness they shared; they treated her as family. She never missed an opportunity to thank or tell people she loved them.

She raised seven children, then married Marshall Bush and took her four stepchildren into her heart as her own. She loved her eleven children wholeheartedly and showered every grandchild and great-grandchild with all the love she could give. Each child felt her unconditional love and support, becoming "best friends" with Gramma Bee.

Bee was preceded in death by her first husband of twenty-eight years, Arnold Koerber; second husband of thirty-three years, Marshall Bush; parents Harry E. and Dorothy (Richards) Johnson; siblings, Mickey King, Julayne Larson, Dick and Arnie Johnson; sons, Don Koerber, Ken and Kevin Bush; and daughter-in-law, Melissa Bush. She is survived by her loving children, Vickie (Tom) Spindler, Arnie (Roxanne) Koerber, Mary (Mitch) Perrine, Tom (Stephanie) Koerber, Bill (Shelley) Koerber, James (Jill) Koerber, Dan Bush, Debbie Dunlevy; and daughters-in-law, Gayle Koerber and Pam Bush; twenty-nine grandchildren and many great-grandchildren; and her sister, Karen Johnson.

A memorial service will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, at the Evans-Nordby Funeral Home, 6000 Brooklyn Boulevard, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. A visitation will take place at 11:00 a.m. A luncheon will follow.

A private family interment will be held at the Pine Needle Cemetery in McGregor at a later date.