Donald "Bunny" Raymond Bush

Donald "Bunny" Raymond Bush

October 15, 1948 - July 4, 2016

Donald "Bunny" Raymond Bush, 67, of Rice Lake, MN died on Monday, July 4, 2016 at his sister's home in Mahnomen, MN.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, July 11, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bagley, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Pine Bend Cemetery near Lengby, MN. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with the arrangements.

Bunny was born in Cass Lake, Minnesota on October 15, 1948, the son of John and Elsie Bush. He worked as a security guard for the Shooting Star Casino and for the Rice Lake community center. He also was a foreman at Stinar's Nursery and was the PCA for his mother.

Bunny enjoyed visiting with his numerous friends, family, and acquaintances, just sitting around talking and gossiping. He liked playing cards, cribbage, dice, going to bingo and to the casino. Many a serious whist tournament was held with family members at Gramma Elsie's house. Bunny took care of gramma Elsie in her later years, he took her everywhere with him. Where she was, he was. They went visiting around to the casinos, to pow-wows, where he was a member of the White Earth Honor Guard as he had entered the army in the late 1960s and received an honorable discharge in 1971. They went to Ojibwe prayer meetings and sang with the Ojibwe Singers at White Earth, Red Lake, Leech Lake, Ponsford, and Onigum. He enjoyed taking trips to Duluth to visit his sisters, Rose and Claire and their children, plus he'd always make it to the Casino there. He also visited his sister Joyce and family in South End. Bunny was invited to numerous homes for holiday dinners and he made it to everyone, after first eating at home. He was a champion rice knocker and travelled all over in Northern Minnesota to various lakes to rice. He last riced two years ago when EJ Stevens took him out on Big Rice. Bunny in his later years went out deer hunting with his friend and brother-in-law, Brad Olson, as he couldn't walk, having lost his foot to diabetes. He was a happy-go-lucky fellow, he knew everybody and everybody knew him. He enjoyed wearing his cowboy boots while dancing. He always had a fresh shave and he wore different colognes and aftershaves which he got for Christmas and Birthdays. He was devoted to his mother Elsie and missed her deeply since she passed on. Bunny lived quietly the last year or two because of his health concerns, but he always enjoyed calling people and keeping in touch. He alternated his time between his home in Rice Lake where his nephew Jon Fiskari took care of him and Mahnomen at his sister Lucy's. Nurse Mary Fred always seemed to know where he was.

Uncle Bunny, you are now walking in your cowboy boots and visiting with Gramma and Grampa and the rest of your friends and family who have gone before us. Long live the memory of Bunny Bush.

He is survived by his sisters, Rose Hoopen of Duluth, MN, Lucille (Brad Olson) Noll of Mahnomen, MN, Joyce Guinn of Bagley, MN, and Clarice Fiskari of Duluth, MN; his brother, Emery Bush of Moose Lake, MN; and many nieces and nephews, and great nieces and great nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents John and Elsie Bush; his brothers, William Bush and Ivan Bush; his brother-in-law, Roy Guinn, Sr.; his nieces, Dianne Olson and Mariah Guinn; his nephew, Roy Guinn, Jr.; and his great nephew, Abinoojii King.