Obituary of Kris Bush

There will be a rosary and viewing Wednesday, March 26th, at 7:00 PM. It will be held in the Masonic Center located at 455 North Street SE in Tumwater. Kris Bush Kris Miller Bush passed away suddenly at home on Saturday March 22, 2008 She was born in Aberdeen Washington on January 27, 1951 to Walt and Catherine (Benson) Miller. She attended St. Mary’s Grade School in the early sixties and graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1969. After a year at Gray’s Harbor Community College, she changed directions and studied cosmetology. On July 25, 1970 she married her childhood sweetheart Jim Bush. The couple moved to Bellingham to further their studies, Jim at Western and Kris at beauty school. After graduation Kris worked at numerous salons in Bellingham including Hair Designs and Reflections. She was also a past president of the Eagles Auxiliary and was a member of Eagles Drill team the year they placed second at their national competition. That girl could stomp. In Bellingham, the Bushes were members of Ascension Parish and their daughter Lindsay, born May 3, 1980, attended the parish school. In 1986, Kris and Jim relocated to Olympia to build a family business, Bush Plumbing and Mechanical. In the late 80’s Kris served as a tour guide for the House of Representatives. She enjoyed meeting people and showing them the beautiful buildings that make up the Capitol Campus. In 1992 the family moved into its dream house with the business building a short walk down the driveway. This gave Kris her most cherished time for being a mom at home for her daughter, Lindsay, and to many young people who came through her door. There are many grateful parents whose children benefited by the patience and acceptance they experienced in Kris’s home. Lindsay and Brian’s son, Mason Jay Valdez came into Kris’s life on June 4, 2000. He gave her great blessings and joy. She loved being Gramma so much that she claimed three more children as her own, Emily, Ross and Mallory. The only thing Kris liked as much as family was her dogs. The love affairs started early with a black cocker spaniel, named Rocky. He was followed by Tippy, Sam, Ginger, Molly, Maggie, and Gypsy. Each in its time was her best friend. Her enchantment with nature didn’t stop with dogs. She was a friend to almost every critter she met. Ladybugs became a fascination when they started to winter in her new house. Every fall hundreds and hundreds of ladybugs would make it inside and disappear into the vents until springtime when they would reappear and move outside into the warmer weather. In 2001, the whole family traveled to Europe to attend her nephew’s wedding, touring Madrid, Florenzia, Venice, and Rome. That trip sparked off a travel blitz. They continued to visit Costa Rica where they would live a month each fall. Cruises were the next discovery. She and Lindsay enjoyed visiting the west coast of Mexico, where Mason got to swim with the dolphins. In 2006, Kris and her sisters took a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands where they saw humpback whales and heard their music. Jim and Kris loved their cruise through the Caribbean last year. The Bush family, has spent the time of their anniversary each summer at Alta Lake in eastern Washington with assorted other travelers, friends, dogs, and cats. They filled their days with horseback riding, water slides, and sitting on the beach, fishing and carting the little ones on boat rides. The cast changed every year but the time away from their frantic routine was always family and fun. Kris is survived by her husband James R. Bush, Olympia, her daughter Lindsay and Lindsay’s family, Brian Valdez, son Mason and (soon to include) son Nolan of Olympia. She is also survived by brother Walt Miller of Lake Nahwatzel, Walt’s son, Mark Miller and his wife Kris of Vancouver and their two sons, Drew and Luke; Walt’s daughter Jessica Hollingsworth and her husband Nathan, of North Carolina and their two daughters Anna and Emme; sister Lorna Snyder and her five children all in the greater Olympia area, daughter Becky Snyder and her daughter, Caitlyn; Richard Snyder and his wife Judy; Victoria (Tori) Snyder and fiancé Chris Byington, and her children Jordyn and Noah Sagawinit; Lisa Snyder; and Stephanie Hampton, her husband John Hampton and daughters Alysse Normoyle and Lillian Claire Hampton; brother Jerome Miller, his wife Connie and their sons Adin and Alex; sister Charlene Hunt, her husband Sam and their children Hillary and Nathan Hunt. Beside the family Kris leaves behind dozens of kids for whom Kris’s home was a place of comfort and strength. To the many children who came to play at Kris’s house she was known as either Gramma Kris or perhaps as her alter ego “She-Ra, Princess of Power.” Her loss will be felt by many people including Garry Rigg; Kathy, Sewall, Sam and Steven Clake; Sue and Mike Buchholz and their children Janna, Jodi, Jed and Jacob; Larry Atkinson; Crystal Bracey, Jenny Walker; Jessica, Serena and Nathan Wolcott, and her bowling teams both in Tumwater and in Bellingham and the Friday Lunch Bunch. To leave a condolence, click on View Guestbook below: