Judy MacDonald Johnston is the Publisher and Cofounder of Blue Lake Children’s Publishing, which develops educational reading tools for preschoolers through a program called the Tessy and Tab Reading Club. Johnston’s credo, “love words early,” and her focus on the earliest years of life, is an interesting foil for her other passion: Planning for end of life. Johnston’s side project, Good [End of] Life, deals not with happy babies decoding symbols, but with a much more morbid topic: Death. Good [End of] Life is a set of online worksheets and practices that aim to help deal with difficult questions — like who should speak for you if you cannot speak, and whether to fill out a do-not-resuscitate form — before it’s too late.

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jbusch@buschfuneral.com

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Jim is the 4th generation funeral director of Busch Funeral and Crematory Services and is co-owner with his brother, Mark. After graduating from Valley Forge High School in 1982, he furthered his education by graduating from Hiram College in 1986 with a communications major and theater minor. Jim makes his home in Avon Lake with his wife Becky (nee Burmeister) and three children: Hannah, a senior at Ohio State University; Sarah, a sophomore at the University of Dayton, and Jacob, a senior at  the Avon Lake High School. Professional memberships include Selected Independent Funeral Homes, Ohio Funeral Directors Association and Cremation Association of North America.

Throughout Jim’s life he has always been an active member of his community. He is past president and founding member of the Northeast Ohio Bereavement Council. Jim is a past trustee of Eliza Jennings as well as the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice. He served on the steering committee for MetroHealth Senior Health and Wellness Center for the Old Brooklyn community. He is past president of Brooklyn Kiwanis Club where he received the Hixson Fellowship award. Jim is currently the community liaison for the West Side Ecumenical Ministry (WSEM) Food Center at Brookside and serves on the WSEM Advisory Board. He is a past commodore of the  Cleveland Yachting Club trustee. As an active member of Bay Presbyterian Church, he has served as an Elder and is currently on the Board of Directors. Jim also serves on the board of the Selected Independent Funeral Homes. He  enjoys spending time with his family and cheering on his kids’ . His favorite hobbies include fishing, boating, golf and basketball.

jhbusch@buschfuneral.com

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Mark and his brother Jim are co-owners of Busch Funeral and Crematory Services. In addition to his lifetime work at Busch Funeral and Crematory Services, Mark worked a summer at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home in Norfolk, Virginia and a brief study on funeral and cemetery pre-arrangement at Forest Park in Houston, Texas. Mark and his wife Jennifer reside in Westlake where his children Jordan and Marissa attend school. Mark is a 1982 graduate of Heidelberg College and an Ohio funeral director since 1984. He is Vice-President of Busch Funeral and Crematory Services and President of Normandy Insurance Agency, Inc.. He currently serves the Ohio Funeral Directors Association (Mortuary Response Team Member), and has served the Funeral Service  Foundation as Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mark is also a member of Selected Independent Funeral Homes, CANA and ICCFA. He has been a featured speaker at numerous Funeral Profession conferences throughout the country.

jmbusch@buschfuneral.com

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All of us here at Busch Funeral and Crematory Services are honored to have had Roger Berry work closely with us serving our families. Roger was a legend. He devoted his life to serving families in the capacity of a funeral director. Roger attended school at Saint Ignatius and West High Schools and started his funeral care career in the family business in 1954. Roger attended Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Sciences and graduated from Baldwin Wallace College receiving his funeral directors license in 1962. That year, Roger and his brother Dan took over the family business and became the 2nd generation of Berry funeral directors. Among his memberships Roger was involved with the Cyuahoga County Funeral Director’s Association, Ohio Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Director’s Association and the Cleveland Embalmers Association. He was a founding member of the Callistian Guild in the Diocese of Cleveland, an organization that provides dignified burials to indegent Catholics. He was a board member and trustee of the HELP Foundation. He was on the board of St. Augustine Manor in Cleveland. He was a long time member of the Westwood Country Club and was a Hiberian Guaranture. He and his brother Dan were honored with “Irishmen of the Year.” He was also a long time member of St. Malachi Church in Cleveland. Roger passed away Friday August 26, 2011 at the Cleveland Clinic after a brief illness.

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In the fall of 1986, the Burmeister Funeral Homes, with a heritage of 50 years and two locations, Avon and Avon Lake, became a part of Busch Funeral and Crematory Services. The Avon and Avon Lake funeral homes are under the careful direction of the Busch Family, William Burmeister, and his staff. William C. Burmeister was born in Cleveland and raised in Avon Lake. Since 1964, Bill and his wife have lived in the residence quarters of the Busch funeral home in Avon. Bill’s parents, Frederick and Dorothy, founded the Busch-Burmeister Family Chapel in Avon Lake in 1946 and Bill has spent his entire life involved in funeral service. A graduate of Avon Lake High School, Bill also attended Kent State University and the Pittsburgh College of Mortuary Science. He has been a licensed funeral director and embalmer since 1964. Bill and his wife have two children. One of his sons, William M. is a funeral director and part of the Busch team. Bill is a member of Avon United Methodist Church and is also active with the Avon Lake Kiwanis Club. In his free time, Bill enjoys boating, fishing, and old cars. Bill firmly states that as a funeral service professional, his philosophy is to “treat people as you would expect to be treated.”
wcburmeister@buschfuneral.com
Busch Funeral and Crematory Services – Avon Facility

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Bill is the son of William C. and Carol Burmeister and is a third generation funeral director. He grew up in the residence quarters of the Busch-Burmeister Family Chapel in Avon and now resides with his family above the Busch Funeral Home in Avon Lake. A 1983 graduate of Avon High School, Bill was awarded an Associates Degree from Lorain County Community College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Kent State University. He has been a licensed funeral director since 1992 Bill is married to another Busch team member, Meghan, who is a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Together they enjoy spending time with their son Otto, walking their dog and their shared interests in movies, music and reading. Bill also enjoys drawing, fishing and the outdoors. He feels that as a funeral director his role is to provide information to families allowing them to make the decisions that they are most comfortable with during a very difficult time, and in doing the extra things that are above the expected.
wmburmesiter@buschfuneral.com
Busch Funeral and Crematory Services – Avon Facility

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Jeff is a native of Elyria and has been an area resident all of his life. Married with four children, he attended Elyria City Schools graduating from Elyria High School in 1980. He then furthered his education at Mount Vernon Nazarene College in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and graduated in 1984 with a degree in Business Management. He worked for five years in retail management and then, in 1990, he decided to enter funeral profession. In 1991, Jeff graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science and also received his funeral director’s and embalmers license. He joined the Busch Funeral and Crematory Service team that year and in 1996 became the Senior Funeral Director of the Elyria funeral home. Jeff has a genuine desire to help people and to meet their needs at the most difficult time in their lives when facing the loss of a loved one. Jeff, his wife Melinda and their children are very active members of the Elyria Nazarene Church. He is a member of the Lorain County Funeral Directors Association, as well as the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce.
jhogan@buschfuneral.com
Busch Funeral and Crematory Services – Elyria Facility

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The details of a funeral service can be tailored to match any personality. They can be solemn and dignified affairs, quick, simple moments, celebratory parties, or something else entirely. A person can prearrange virtually anything that suits them for their funeral.

Click here to watch the whole story. 

Image from WhyPreplan.org

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Born in Parma and raised in Brook Park, Bob graduated from Midpark High School and attended Kent State University and Cuyahoga Community College. He joined the team at Busch Funeral and Crematory Services in 1983 and serves as the manager of our Fairview Park funeral home. His philosophy is to educate families on the diverse service options available and to give them the freedom to choose the way in which their family and friends say goodbye to the loved one who was a significant part of their lives. Bob makes his home in Lakewood and attends Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, OH.
rsolich@buschfuneral.com
Busch Funeral and Crematory Services – Fairview Park Facility

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