Epilogue #5 1974-1975
Note: Buss's last vacation with his Pace Arrow motorhome was in 1974, but only Debbie wanted to go with him. So, the two of them set off for a road trip visiting Hoover Dam, the Great Salt Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Jackson, Wyoming, Oregon, and the southern California coastline. By that late fall, Buss was noticing headaches and an inability to remember familiar names. He was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an inoperable brain tumor. The doctors informed Ruth and the kids that he probably had only six months to live. He retired on February 7, 1975, and spent that year raising rabbits in the backyard in hutches he built himself. At the six month mark, June of 1975, he took one last trip; this time it was by himself on Greyhound Bus Lines to visit his older brother, Carl, and family in Illinois.
This lengthy typewritten letter was presented to him by a co-worker on his 57th birthday. She had handwritten it from the outside-in on a roll of toilet paper. It provides a glimpse into his sense of humor and the camaraderie he shared with those with whom he worked.
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| Buss' last business card-1974 |
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| Carl and Ellen visited Buss and Ruth in 1974 |
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| Buss bought this little Honda 90 motorcycle and built a rack for it on the Pace Arrow. |
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| Buss-circa 1974 |
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| Buss' brother, Martin's, obituary |
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| Teaching Sunday School class at South Bay Baptist Church, Chula Vista |
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| Debbie- near Jackson, Wyoming 1974 |
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| The Pace Arrow-1974 |
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| Last family photo-Christmas 1974 |
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| At Knott's Berry Farm-Spring 1975 |
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| Receiving his retirement watch for his years of service-February 7, 1975 |
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| Receiving his plaque for years of service-February 7, 1975 |
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| The cake says, "Happy Retirement You "Old Goat"" |
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| Written to a neighbor during his last bus trip - June 1975. |
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| Buss' gift to Debbie-Christmas 1975 |
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| "Debbie: - Take care of in the future"-Christmas 1975 |
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