IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Carolyn

Carolyn Busby Profile Photo

Busby

March 29, 1928 – November 29, 2021

Obituary

Services for Carolyn Busby are postponed due to health reason. This page will update the service date/time when available.

Carolyn Busby, passed away peacefully in her home on Monday, November 29 th , 2021.

Carolyn was born March 29, 1928 in Durant Oklahoma to Ruth and Randy Boswell.  Carolyn was raised in Kilgore Texas and attended Kilgore Junior College where she was a Kilgore Rangerette for two years before transferring to East Central University in Ada, where she studied Home Economics.  Her ECU History teacher and renowned Ada matchmaker, Eileen McKeel, set her up on a blind date with a young Ada rancher, Philip Busby.  Philip and Carolyn were married June 25, 1949.  They loved each other passionately, provided a safe, secure and loving home for their children, cherished their extended family and friends, and celebrated their 67 th wedding anniversary together before Philip's passing in 2016.

The young couple began their married life in a small two bedroom farm house on the Busby 4-B Ranch, where Philip was the ranch manager and dairy operator.  They moved to Ada in 1953 where they raised four children, Martha Ann, Catherine, Steve, and Marilyn.  While raising her family, Carolyn also stayed busy in the community. She attended the First Baptist Church, where she enjoyed singing in the Choir, teaching Sunday School and Bible School and acted as Nursery Coordinator for many years.  Carolyn also loved playing Bridge and Mahjong and attended Coffee Club with her friends.  Philip and Carolyn loved to entertain. She was the consummate hostess and an amazing cook.

Carolyn's college interest and talents evolved as a young homemaker as she progressed from remodeling her own home to helping many of her friends redecorate their homes, to eventually establishing a thriving commercial interior design business of her own, Busby Interiors.   As an interior decorator, Carolyn had the opportunity to work on several community remodeling projects, such as Valley View Hospital, the Ada Public Library and the Ada Arts and Heritage Center. Her biggest project was the new Sanctuary building for the First Baptist Church built in 1981.  Carolyn was the only woman on the Building Committee and the only one with a pink hard hat.

Both Carolyn and Philip had a real interest in helping others, especially through mission work. One of Carolyn's mission trips took her to Hong Kong where she taught Bible School for children. Her interest in supporting overseas missions and her strong Baptist heritage led her to join the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF).  She was one of the founding members of the Oklahoma Chapter and helped write its founding by-laws, served on numerous committees, and represented the Oklahoma Chapter at the National CBF Convention for several years.  With no active CBF church near Ada, Carolyn found a welcoming spiritual home locally at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where she worshipped regularly with many of her friends.

In her late 70's, Carolyn went back to East Central to finish her degree.  She was three credit hours short of obtaining her diploma at the age of 80 when she suffered a mini stroke while walking to class one day.   Though she never returned to campus, she recovered and continued her decorating career for several more years.  When asked what her secret is to getting so much done, she replied, "Just don't sit down!"

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Randy Boswell, her two sisters, Martha Pettit and Marguerite Johnson, her daughter, Martha Ann Reimann, and her husband and "biggest supporter and best friend" Philip Busby.

Carolyn is survived by three of her children, Catherine Dart of Norman, Steve Busby and Marilyn Crawford of Ada, and her grandchildren, Sara Reimann, Amy Radtke, Alison, Brian and Philip Dart, Steven and Jake Crawford, Alex and Max Busby, Daniel, Josh and Sarah Dunigan, as well as fourteen great grandchildren.  She is also survived by many adoring nieces and nephews.

Carolyn will be remembered as a fabulous mother, doting grandmother, loving wife and faithful, supportive friend by us all.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Jimmy Carter Foundation, St. Luke's Matthew 25 Ministry, or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) Global Missions.

The family respectfully requests masks be worn during the service.

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