William Bush

SHREVEPORT, LA - Services for Bill Bush, 70, will be Saturday, October 4, 2014 at 1 p.m. at Church of the Holy Cross, Episcopal, 875 Cotton St., Shreveport, with ashes to be scattered in the church garden. A memorial jam session will be from 3 to 6 p.m. that day at the Elks Club, 310 E. Preston Ave., Shreveport. William Hardy "Bill" Bush was born November 27, 1943 in Shreveport, LA and passed away at his residence October 1, 2014. He was a Byrd High School and Centenary College graduate, Bush was involved with alumni associations, the Progressive Men's Club, Local 116 of the American Federation of Musicians, Holy Cross Episcopal Church, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, Downtown Shreveport Unlimited, Historical Preservation of Shreveport, the Louisiana Restaurant Association, the Shriners and the Elks. Bill was a past two-term Shreveport City Council member and a popular area musician. His two passions, music and politics, were really intertwined, Bush once said. He was known for his work with the Bill Bush Combo, an entity he first formed after being asked, as a football player at Byrd High School, to perform at a pep squad talent show his senior year."Before each Byrd game," a Times profile of Bush in 1968 read, "the football coach warned players 'Don't step on Bush's fingers,' because he played for the post-game dances." He also encouraged younger musicians, taking them under his wing for stints in his combo, or hiring them for gigs at his downtown nightclub, Bill Bush's Moulin Rouge, which he owned and operated from 1971 to 1990. Bill was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years Judy Yeager Bush. Survivors include his brother, Charlie Bush, also a well-known local musician; sister Rebecca Bush, a local chef; daughters Jennifer Leigh Bush, an educator, and Terri Lynn Bush, a Dallas attorney; grandson William Bush Newman of Shreveport; and his mother, Ruby Bush, of McKinney, Texas.