Fred Buss

Raymond Frederick “FRED” Buss

April 11, 1937 – January 24, 2019

Fred Buss was born on April 11, 1937 as the second child born to Raymond Louis Buss and Blanche Latourette in rural Canby, Oregon. After growing up in Canby with 3 sisters Ellie (Warmbier), Marion (Henning), and Betty (Boyd), he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1954 at 17 years old. He successfully earned his GED while in the Air Force.

Fred enlisted, went to basic training and became an aircraft electrician, spending most of his time working in hangars repairing aircraft. Fred was stationed in Roswell, NM, Japan, Vietnam, Idaho and Georgia, and spent time in Guam and on Kwajalien atoll in the Marshall Islands, before retiring after 20+ years of service.

While in the U.S. Air Force, he met and married Juanita Duran in Roswell, New Mexico. While stationed in Boise, Fred and Juanita adopted their two children Shelly and Jim. Once retired from the Air Force, Fred moved his family back to his beloved home state of Oregon and settled in Sherwood to raise the family. He worked for several different private electrician companies primarily wiring foundry equipment and retired from his second career in electrical work in his early 60’s.

After 35 years of marriage, Fred and Juanita divorced, and Fred married Anna Jeffries, his high school sweetheart. They were married in a small private ceremony in 1997. They were married for 13 years until Anna’s death in 2010. During this time, Matthew and Kurtis, his only grandchildren were born in 1995 and 1997.

Fred married Dorothy Russie (Dottie) on September 24, 2011. They enjoyed traveling and visiting family and friends. They were quite adventurous and Fred started a “bucket list” to visit places that he had always wanted to see. In the past several years, they traveled to Canada to see family and the famous Calgary Stampede Rodeo, taking in the nature sights along the way. Other trips included a cruise to Alaska, the trip to Hawaii for Kurtis’ high school graduation and sightseeing. Dottie’s family embraced Fred as one of their own.

Fred was very proud of his two grandsons, Matthew and Kurtis, attending both high school graduations, and enjoyed relating to Matthew about his time in the Army and was proud of Kurtis in college at Oregon State University.

Fred enjoyed outdoor activities including fishing, hunting, and camping, and had a love for wildlife including birds, deer and elk. This was evident in his many birdfeeders, his love of Sunday drives, and his cherished art work. He also enjoyed celebrating fellow veterans and their service.

He is survived by wife Dottie, children Shelly and Jim, grandsons Matthew and Kurtis, and sisters Marion and Ellie.