Paul Busch

Paul Michael Busch, 25, of Bozeman, Montana, formerly of Pleasant Hill, was born Tuesday, December 31, 1985, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Stephen P. and Anne L. (Sullivan) Busch. He entered heaven on Sunday, August 28, 2011, as a result of an accidental drowning.

He was a 2004 graduate of Pleasant Hill High School, where he excelled in sports, and was active in Student Council and had a crew of true friends. He was currently a student at Montana State University and had planned to attend fire academy after completing his degree.

Paul was a gifted athlete, a philosopher, and well-loved brother, son, and friend. He was an excellent fly fisherman, hiker, climber, and skier. If it was a physical activity, Paul excelled in it. He came to Montana as an AmeriCorps volunteer and stayed on with the Forest Service as a Wilderness ranger which allowed him to tromp through the forest everyday with his buddy Kyle and his amazing dog, Fred. Paul was very much a lover of nature, both the micro and macro view. He appreciated the commonality of natural elements, but perhaps more so the diversity of nature which makes all things unique. He loved the rocks, the trees, the rippling streams and cloud-dotted blue sky. He was also aware of the underlying force surrounding and uniting those elements. Whether it be Montana, Missouri, the Mission Mountains, or anywhere on earth, his spirit has been released to join in that force. We cannot understand it, but Paul's spirit/soul is now a part of it. If you would like to see what Paul sees, go to a mountain top. If you would like to hear what Paul hears, listen to the wind in the trees or the gentle ripple of a mountain stream. If you would like to feel what Paul feels, dip your hand into a cool mountain stream, for this is heaven to Paul.

Loved by everyone in the universe, he certainly loved life and lived it to the fullest every day. He had a pixie-ish sense of humor and loved pranks but was never unkind to anyone. He was devoted and loving to his parents, sisters, and friends, and will be missed beyond measure.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Harold and Ruth Busch and his maternal grandmother Audrey Sullivan.

He is survived by his parents, Steve and Anne of Pleasant Hill; his sisters, Sadie Geppert and her husband Blake of Kansas City and Kerry McGhee and her husband Dan of Lee's Summit; maternal grandfather Robert Sullivan and his wife Gretchen of San Francisco, California; several aunts and uncles, and cousins, a host of many friends from everywhere he went; and his dog, Fred.

Cremation has been accorded.

A memorial gathering was held on Saturday, September 10, 2011, at the Pleasant Hill City Lake.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, www.bmwf.org/ or the Wilderness Society http://wilderness.org