Emily Buss

Emily Buss Emily B Buss was born Emily B Johnson to a millworker family in Rosboro, Arkansas on January 5, 1932. She was the eldest child and only daughter of five children of Willa B Raines and BH Johnson. The major portion of her elementary school education was spent in Arkansas. At the age of seven she moved to Springfield with her parents and brothers when Rosboro Lumber Company relocated its mill from Rosboro to Springfield. Emily met her future husband Robert (Bob) Buss of Springfield in a cherry orchard near Goshen when one rainy day Bob worked up the nerve to offer Emily a ride home after a day of picking cherries. Emily graduated from Springfield High School in 1950 and on June 25, 1950 she and Bob were married. Emily then worked various jobs including the Eugene cannery and Saunders Cleaners. On July 11, 1952 Bob was inducted into the army. He reported to Fort Lewis in Tacoma and then was transferred for training to Camp Roberts, California, and later to Ford Ord. While Bob was at Camp Roberts, Emily worked at a fish cannery in Monterey and they lived together in a luxury one-room shack. They later moved to the Presidio in San Francisco when Bob was promoted to Corporal E-4. Emily worked downtown in the big city at the offices of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The army shipped their possessions home when Bob was discharged in July 1954. Their worldly goods consisted of two end-tables, one lamp, a television, one twin bed, and an ironing board. They each had a couple of outfits and two pairs of shoes. Free to discover their futures, Emily and Bob started life again in Springfield. Emily went to work in an office for the Weyerhaeuser Company while Bob attended the University of Oregon. In 1955 they had their first son, Byron. By 1963 Bob and Emily had two more children: son Aaron and daughter Pamela and Emily stayed home to care for their growing family. After the kids were all in school, Emily went to work as library assistant at Briggs Middle School, where she worked for 21 years until her retirement. After graduating from college, Bob began his teaching career at Hamlin and Springfield Junior Highs. After earning his Masters Degree from the UO, he worked as assistant principal at Springfield Junior High, and as assistant and vice principal at Thurston High until his retirement in 1988. During both their working years and well into retirement, Emily and Bob enjoyed holidays and summers entertaining close friends and relatives in their extensive backyard garden. Even as his eyesight was failing him, Bob tinkered in his greenhouse and raised and tended to a wide variety of marigolds, geraniums, roses and dozens of hanging fuchsia baskets—much to Emily’s delight. Bob and Emily were married for 62 years. Bob preceded Emily in passing on March 5, 2013. Bob proclaimed his gratefulness for his life with Emily until his very last day on Earth. He died with Emily next to him, holding his hand. After Bob’s death, Emily particularly enjoyed doing word-finds and watching CSI, the Food Network and HGTV. Emily passed away peacefully of natural causes at home, in the company of family and her beloved Chihuahua, Patches. She is survived by her four brothers whom she loved dearly, J.C. Johnson of Springfield, Donald T. Johnson of Springfield, Lee Roy Johnson of Camp Creek and Larry Johnson of Sweet Home along with her children Byron Allan Buss of Springfield, Aaron Kirk Douglas of Portland, and Pamela Buss Sherrill of Eugene. A Memorial Service is scheduled for 1 PM, December 27th, 2016 at West Lawn Chapel of Memories Funeral Home,225 S. Danebo Ave, Eugene 97402. The family witnessing of burial will take place immediately following at Springfield Memorial Gardens, 7305 Main Street, Springfield OR 97478. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Greenhill Humane Society. “Our friends may remember the hay fields, the cherry fields, the hop fields and the bean fields. Remember how we counted our pennies and nickels? We will take those memories to our grave! Our offspring today will remember baby-sitting, fast food joints, sport activities and allowances! We always made sure they were well fed and well dressed—so that their memories would not be the same as ours.” — Bob Buss Emily and Bob’s children would like to offer a heartfelt and special thank you to Ruth and Don Johnson for their years of gracious and loving service Bob and Emily. [Biography adapted and updated from “A brief history of the lives of Robert D. and Emily B Johnson Buss” dated January 25, 2000 by Robert D. Buss.] Please sign the guest book at www.registerguard.com/legacy