Maggie Louise Bush

Maggie Louise Bush passed away peacefully in Collegedale, Tennessee on January 20, 2018, at the age of 89, following a long battle with dementia.

Maggie was born on December 24, 1928 in Lake Charles, Louisiana to Charles Gratton and Myrtle Peterson Gratton. She was a lifelong resident of Lake Charles until 2013, when she moved to Tennessee to be closer to her family. Shortly after graduation from LaGrange High School, Maggie went to work for Gulf States Utilities, where she met the love of her life, Feland “Phil” Bush. They were married in 1948, and soon went about the business of establishing a home and raising a family. Maggie was later employed by, and retired from, the Greater Lake Charles Water Company.

She is survived by two sons, Craig Bush and wife Faye of Collegedale, Tennessee, and Steve Bush and wife Sharon of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; grandchildren, Amy McGill Willard, Mark McGill, Bryan Lavoi, Shawn Pyatt, and Ginger Pyatt Caldwell; fourteen great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Feland Bush; her parents; her stepmother, Enola Gratton; brothers, Charles Lloyd Gratton and Bennie Gratton; sisters, Nyra White and Dolly Griffin; and granddaughter, Julie McGill Bauman.

Maggie was a faithful member of University United Methodist Church for more than sixty years, until she relocated to Tennessee, where she joined Ooltewah United Methodist Church. Her recreational interests included dancing, entertaining, and travel, having visited 49 of the 50 states, as well as a number of foreign countries. Memberships included Le Bon Temps dance club, Primetimers, the LaGrange Lunch Bunch, the Lake Charles Christian Women’s Club, Entergy Sideliners, and the Ladies of Sahara.

Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, February 3, at 12:00 noon, at Johnson Funeral Home in Lake Charles, with a memorial service to follow at 2:00 p.m. Reverend Charles Langford will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to University United Methodist Church, 3501 Patrick St, Lake Charles, LA 70605; or Ooltewah United Methodist Church, 6131 Relocation Way, Ooltewah, TN 37363; or to the dementia research foundation of your choice.