Dolores Bussen

How do you put 95 years of living into a few paragraphs?  Grammie was such a kind, selfless lady…but all of you that knew her already know this.

Dolores Basgall was born on March 19, 1925 to Alex Basgall and Mary Urban at the Basgall farm southeast of Wallace, Kansas.  She was the 4th child out of 10 children: Gene, Edwin, Willie, Bert, Norbie, Juanita, twins George and Margaret, and Bernice.  She attended the Gill School east of their farm and later attended school in Wallace, Kansas.  Her high school graduating class was the last class in Wallace in 1943.  After high school she taught at the Gill School for a short time.

On July 13, 1944 she married her neighbor, Leo Bussen.  Together they had 6 children: Jim, Butch and twin brother Johnny, Kenan, Trina and Mark.

The first few years of marriage Dolores worked as a housewife.  She later worked at Uncle Pete’s Grocery Store and the Wallace Post Office.  After her husband died in 1971, she went to work as a teller at the People’s State Bank in Sharon Springs, Kansas and worked there until she retired.  Throughout most of these years, she was the City Clerk of Wallace as well.

Dolores was a very strong and active member of St Peter’s Catholic Church in Wallace, Kansas.  Later in life, she became a member of the Holy Ghost Church in Sharon Springs, Kansas.  She had a strong devotion to Jesus’ mother, Mary.  Many Rosaries have been prayed through her lips!

Her family was definitely her greatest blessing.  She lived and breathed for her children and more so, her grandchildren, thus came her infamous name, Grammie Dee!  Almost everyone that knew her called her Grammie.  I think every grandchild was rocked by Grammie with her singing a little song in German.

Dolores never turned away a “stray”, that not meaning cats or dogs, but people.  There have been many of young folks that Grammie took under her wing, one special one from New Zealand named Lee.

She had a love for music.  She always had her C.D. player or T.V. on with country music playing or was playing the piano.  She was heartbroken when her legs became too weak to be able to dance.

Most of our memories will be from Grammie’s house in Wallace.  We could pack more people in that little house when Grammie would cook.  She was known for her endless pots of coffee, cinnamon rolls, homemade plum jelly and personal pan apple pies.

Her life has had so much love; there is no end to bragging on her.  She left this world on October 2, 2020 after dying of natural causes.

Immediate family proceeding her in death are her husband Leo, son Kenan, infant son Johnny and Butch’s wife, Libby.

Dolores is survived by her sister Juanita Wostenberg (her side kick for 90 years) and brother George Basgall.  She is also survived by 4 of her children, Jim and wife Penny Bussen, Butch, Trina and husband Ted Smelker, Mark and wife V.K. Bussen, Kenan’s wife Debbie Bussen, 18 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren.

Grammie, you said you had a lot of questions for Jesus…now you can ask!