Rollin A. Busse, 86, 517 Soo Marie Ave., Stevens Point, died Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011, at Ministry St Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.
A celebration of his life was held Wednesday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Stevens Point, with the Rev. Thomas Petersen officiating. Burial was in St. John Lutheran Cemetery in Mount Prospect, Ill.
Visitation was at Boston Funeral Home in Stevens Point Tuesday and at the church Wednesday.
Memorials may be made to St. Paul Lutheran Church or the church food pantry.
Condolences may be offered online at bostonfuneralhome.net.
Mr. Busse was born Feb. 9, 1925, in Elk Grove Village, Ill., a son of the late Arthur and Ella (Engelking) Busse. He attended grade school at St. John Lutheran School and high school at Arlington Heights, graduating in 1942. He attended Valparaiso University for a year until he entered military service.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1943. Through the Navy he attended the University of Notre Dame for officer training school for a year, and then was transferred to Great Lakes Naval Station for apprentice seaman training. In 1944 he attended Naval Aviation Technical Training Center in Jacksonville, Fla. After receiving Seaman 1st Class, he was transferred to San Diego Naval Air Station in 1945. In San Diego he installed radio and radar gear into airplanes being prepared for loading into aircraft carriers. He received an honorable discharge on May 21, 1946.
Following military service, he attended the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., receiving a degree in agriculture in 1949.
Mr. Busse was married to LaVerne Bein on Aug. 15, 1948, at St. John Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect, Ill. The couple lived in Champaign, Ill., while he completed his studies and his wife worked as a registered nurse at University Hospital.
After receiving a degree, they lived in Kankakee, Marengo and Woodstock, Ill., where he was employed as a county farm agent. In 1953 he moved his family to Berlin where he managed a lettuce farm, and then to Portage for several years again as manager of a large corporate farm. In 1963 he moved to Stevens Point to be the manager of Paramount Farms until retirement.
He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, and participated in the church's Men's Group and School Board. He was also a member of American Legion Post 6 of Stevens Point. He was a certified Master Gardener.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Larry (Karen), Stevens Point, Jeff (Sandee), West Bend, and Greg (Laura), Maple Grove, Minn.; one daughter, Karen (John) Krueger, Albuquerque, N.M.; one brother, Marvin (Nora), McHenry, Ill.; one sister, Carol Jean Metts, Eufaula, Ala.; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
He was also preceded in death one brother, Wilbur.