lit a candle 7h agoI don't really know what to say here. Never knew him, just read the notice this morning and it stopped me for a minute. 80 years, decades of teaching kids in Kalamazoo, and I'm sitting here in Massachusetts with no words that feel like enough.
Their story
Richard "Dick" Bush, a longtime Kalamazoo, Michigan teacher and coach, died on October 18, 2026, at the age of 80. He was born on May 4, 1946, and spent his working life in and around the city he called home. According to the notice published by Betzler Life Story Funeral…
Richard "Dick" Bush, a longtime Kalamazoo, Michigan teacher and coach, died on October 18, 2026, at the age of 80. He was born on May 4, 1946, and spent his working life in and around the city he called home.
According to the notice published by Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes of Kalamazoo, Bush spent his career as a teacher and coach, and he was remembered as someone who made a lasting impact in that role. A related tribute from Legacy.com's collection of notices for coaches and athletic directors described him more fully as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, veteran, teacher, coach, businessman, and friend, adding that he took pride in working hard and paying his own way throughout his life.
Bush was not a nationally prominent figure, and no Wikipedia page or wire-service obituary has been published about him. His story, as it stands, comes from the funeral home notice and the brief tribute circulated through Legacy.com in the days after his death. The specific schools, teams, or students he worked with, and the branch and years of his military service, have not yet been made public. Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes indicated that a fuller account of his life, what the funeral home calls a Life Story, was still being prepared at the time of his death and had not yet been published.
What is clear from the notices so far is that Bush's influence was felt locally and personally rather than on a wide public stage. He was remembered by his family as a steady and kindhearted role model, the kind of teacher and coach whose effect on students and players outlasted the classroom or the playing field.
Bush died on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in the Kalamazoo area. No cause of death has been made public. His family is being cared for by Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes of Kalamazoo, and a public visitation, described by the funeral home as a Life Story Visitation where food, drinks, and stories will be shared, is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home's Kalamazoo location, with a toast planned for 7 p.m.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by MLive.com.
Photos
1by People Forever
Sometimes that's the most honest tribute there is.