Obituary of Clara J. Bush

Clara Jane Bush, 74, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, July 14, 2016 at her home in Blowing Rock, NC. Jane was born in Blowing Rock on April 4, 1942 to Kent Kerner Brown and Clara Sperling Brown. As a young girl in the Appalachian Mountains, she developed a lifelong love of nature and music. During her high school years, her family moved to Vero Beach, FL where she graduated from Vero Beach High School in 1960. She graduated in 1964 from Appalachian State Teachers College in Boone, NC, where she studied voice and piano. She soon met the love of her life, Newland, and they were married in September of 1966 in Vero Beach, FL. His law career brought them to Maryland, where they lived for most of their lives. Jane enjoyed her life in Maryland, where she became a music teacher and mother. She had many other interests and many friends. She loved history, gardening, watercolor painting, classical music, and traveling all over the world. She was a voracious reader and enjoyed any book she could find. She was very active in her community. She was a member of the Maryland Law Wives and The Southern Maryland Choral Society for many years. She also was a volunteer docent at The Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, DC and at the historic Oxon Hill Manor in Oxon Hill, MD. She volunteered at the Oxon Hill Public Library for many years. She had a passion for politics and a strong love for all animals. After retirement, Jane spent many years in her beloved home state of North Carolina, in the mountains of Blowing Rock. She loved her church and especially enjoyed singing in the choir. She made many friends wherever she went, and she loved reconnecting with old friends from her childhood. She was a strong, kind, and charming �Southern Lady.� She lost her beloved husband, �Sonnie,� in August of 2015. She is survived by her son, Nathaniel Bush of Blowing Rock, NC; daughter Rebecca Kimble and husband Kevin, of Harwood, MD; grandsons, Jacob and Matthew Kimble; granddaughter, Kirra Laws-Bush; sister, Mary Kent Poteat of Fernandina Beach, FL; sisters-in-law Juanita Setzer of Lenoir, NC; Carolyn Bush of Lenoir, NC; Linda and husband Charles Spicer of Matthews, NC; and Pixie Bush of Lenoir, NC; along with many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life service will be held at St. Mary of the Hills Episcopal Parish in Blowing Rock, NC on Sunday, August 7, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to The Humane Society, at humanesociety.org, and Jews for Jesus, at jewsforjesus.org.