from the Miami Herald for Friday, Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Victoria Alexandra Isabel Bush, 82, a founder of Opalocka, died Wednesday at her home.
She was born Lady Irene Fitzgerald Coburg in County Kildare, Ireland. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha .
Mrs. Bush and her late husband, Frank S., came to Florida in 1925 from Elmira, New York, and in 1926 Mr. Bush built the first private residence in what was to become Opalocka.
The home, erected on land which was a gift from developer Glenn Curtiss, still stands at 1340 Perl Street. It is now an apartment building.
Mrs. Bush named the home "Pine Shadows" because "It was always filled with the charming play of light and shadow cast by the pines."
The Bushes were two of the 28 registered voters and freeholders who voted to charter the town of Opa-locka on May 14, 1926, in a building that is now home to the city's Water Department.
The Bush Electric Company, according to "A Dream of Araby", a book about the city written by the Bushes' first son, Frank S., installed the wiring in all of the Opa-locka buildings. The company was formed by Curtiss, developer of Hialeah, Miami Springs and Opa-locka.
Mrs. Bush rode almost daily at the Opa-locka Riding Academy during the late 1920's.
She was a guest of James Deering, original owner of Vizcaya, in the 1920's, and later became a member of the Vizcayans, a group dedicated to upkeep of the mansion.
In addition to her son, Frank S., Mrs. Bush is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall; 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. services at the Lowe-Hanks Okeechobee Road Funeral Home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from the Miami News for Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Bush, whose ancestors had ruled great empires, came with her husband, Frank, to the young place called Miami in the early 1920's and they became friends with aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.
One day, Curtiss took them out to a raw wilderness that the Indians called Opatisnawaockalocka, and he began describing vividly the beautiful city he wanted to develop there.
Irene, whose childhood had been filled with true stories of royal European courts and castles, turned to her friend and clapped her hands, exclaiming, "Oh, Glenn, it's like a dream from the Arabian Nights."
Curtiss went home that night, found in his library an illustrated volume of the fantasy tales told by the fantasy princess Scheherazade, and he began to read. The next day, or so the legend goes, he sent a copy of the book to his architect, Bernhardt Muller, in New York.
And thus the gates did open, and the minarets did rise in amethyst and turquoise, for the "theme town" of Opalocka.
Irene Bush, thus forever a part of a legend, was born Feb. 24, 1899, at Carlton House in County Kildare, Ireland, and christened Irene (pronounced I-ree-nee) Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, a great-granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Czar Alexander II of imperial Russia.
She was reared mostly in England and Scotland by a great-aunt after the early death of her Irish mother. Her father, Alfred, grandson of Victoria and Alexander, and son of Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had died of a mysterious gunshot wound just two weeks before she was born. His family, it was said, did not approve of his marriage although Irene's mother was the daughter of an Irish duke, surnamed Fitzgerald. [Note: From information provided by her son Frank FitzGerald-Bush, Irene's mother's father was Lord Charles FitzGerald (1859-1928), a son of the 4th Duke of Leinster.]
When she came of age, Irene chose to renounce the claims to noble title - and to possible fortune that might have gone with it - to marry the American she had met as a teenager on a trip and to become an American citizen herself.
She died Wednesday of cancer, in the modest home she shared with a son, Frank, in Northwest Dade not far from Opa-locka. She was 82, a widow, and had lost two of her four children.
"She had suffered from cancer for about 2 1/2 years," said Frank. "For the last six months we knew it was terminal. She died at home with her family around her as was her wish. It was painless."
In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall, of Boynton Beach and Cape Vincent, New York, and by nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
The family of Irene Bush will receive friends tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. and services will follow at the Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
___________________________________________________________________________________
from another newspaper obituary:
Bush, Irene Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, 82, widow of Frank Shepard Bush and only child of the late Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born 24 Feb. 1899 at Carlton House, County Kildare, Ireland, died Wed., 30th Sept., 1981 at her home near Opa Locka, the town which she and her husband helped found in 1926. Two of her children predeceased her, daughter, Judith Harriet (Mrs. James Houston Hines Jr.) died in 1948. A son, Jason Tyler Bush, killed in an aircraft accident at the Old Tamiami Airport in 1959. Survivors include a daughter, Janet (Mrs. Wendall T. Hall) of Boynton Beach and of Cape Vincent, N. Y.; a son, Frank S. Fitzgerald Bush and a grandson Jay Tyler Bush, both of Opa Locka; 8 other grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren.
Once active in civic affairs, she had been an ardent supporter of women's rights, prison reform and the abolition of capital punishment. She was formerly a member of many groups, including the English-Speaking Union and the Irish Georgian Society. In later years ha retained membership only in the Viscayans and in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston.
Family will receive friends 12 to 2 p.m. Sat. Funeral services, 2:00 p.m., Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
Irene Victoria Alexandra Isabel Bush, 82, a founder of Opalocka, died Wednesday at her home.
She was born Lady Irene Fitzgerald Coburg in County Kildare, Ireland. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha .
Mrs. Bush and her late husband, Frank S., came to Florida in 1925 from Elmira, New York, and in 1926 Mr. Bush built the first private residence in what was to become Opalocka.
The home, erected on land which was a gift from developer Glenn Curtiss, still stands at 1340 Perl Street. It is now an apartment building.
Mrs. Bush named the home "Pine Shadows" because "It was always filled with the charming play of light and shadow cast by the pines."
The Bushes were two of the 28 registered voters and freeholders who voted to charter the town of Opa-locka on May 14, 1926, in a building that is now home to the city's Water Department.
The Bush Electric Company, according to "A Dream of Araby", a book about the city written by the Bushes' first son, Frank S., installed the wiring in all of the Opa-locka buildings. The company was formed by Curtiss, developer of Hialeah, Miami Springs and Opa-locka.
Mrs. Bush rode almost daily at the Opa-locka Riding Academy during the late 1920's.
She was a guest of James Deering, original owner of Vizcaya, in the 1920's, and later became a member of the Vizcayans, a group dedicated to upkeep of the mansion.
In addition to her son, Frank S., Mrs. Bush is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall; 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. services at the Lowe-Hanks Okeechobee Road Funeral Home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from the Miami News for Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Bush, whose ancestors had ruled great empires, came with her husband, Frank, to the young place called Miami in the early 1920's and they became friends with aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.
One day, Curtiss took them out to a raw wilderness that the Indians called Opatisnawaockalocka, and he began describing vividly the beautiful city he wanted to develop there.
Irene, whose childhood had been filled with true stories of royal European courts and castles, turned to her friend and clapped her hands, exclaiming, "Oh, Glenn, it's like a dream from the Arabian Nights."
Curtiss went home that night, found in his library an illustrated volume of the fantasy tales told by the fantasy princess Scheherazade, and he began to read. The next day, or so the legend goes, he sent a copy of the book to his architect, Bernhardt Muller, in New York.
And thus the gates did open, and the minarets did rise in amethyst and turquoise, for the "theme town" of Opalocka.
Irene Bush, thus forever a part of a legend, was born Feb. 24, 1899, at Carlton House in County Kildare, Ireland, and christened Irene (pronounced I-ree-nee) Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, a great-granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Czar Alexander II of imperial Russia.
She was reared mostly in England and Scotland by a great-aunt after the early death of her Irish mother. Her father, Alfred, grandson of Victoria and Alexander, and son of Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had died of a mysterious gunshot wound just two weeks before she was born. His family, it was said, did not approve of his marriage although Irene's mother was the daughter of an Irish duke, surnamed Fitzgerald. [Note: From information provided by her son Frank FitzGerald-Bush, Irene's mother's father was Lord Charles FitzGerald (1859-1928), a son of the 4th Duke of Leinster.]
When she came of age, Irene chose to renounce the claims to noble title - and to possible fortune that might have gone with it - to marry the American she had met as a teenager on a trip and to become an American citizen herself.
She died Wednesday of cancer, in the modest home she shared with a son, Frank, in Northwest Dade not far from Opa-locka. She was 82, a widow, and had lost two of her four children.
"She had suffered from cancer for about 2 1/2 years," said Frank. "For the last six months we knew it was terminal. She died at home with her family around her as was her wish. It was painless."
In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall, of Boynton Beach and Cape Vincent, New York, and by nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
The family of Irene Bush will receive friends tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. and services will follow at the Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
___________________________________________________________________________________
from another newspaper obituary:
Bush, Irene Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, 82, widow of Frank Shepard Bush and only child of the late Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born 24 Feb. 1899 at Carlton House, County Kildare, Ireland, died Wed., 30th Sept., 1981 at her home near Opa Locka, the town which she and her husband helped found in 1926. Two of her children predeceased her, daughter, Judith Harriet (Mrs. James Houston Hines Jr.) died in 1948. A son, Jason Tyler Bush, killed in an aircraft accident at the Old Tamiami Airport in 1959. Survivors include a daughter, Janet (Mrs. Wendall T. Hall) of Boynton Beach and of Cape Vincent, N. Y.; a son, Frank S. Fitzgerald Bush and a grandson Jay Tyler Bush, both of Opa Locka; 8 other grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren.
Once active in civic affairs, she had been an ardent supporter of women's rights, prison reform and the abolition of capital punishment. She was formerly a member of many groups, including the English-Speaking Union and the Irish Georgian Society. In later years ha retained membership only in the Viscayans and in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston.
Family will receive friends 12 to 2 p.m. Sat. Funeral services, 2:00 p.m., Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
from the Miami Herald for Friday, Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Victoria Alexandra Isabel Bush, 82, a founder of Opalocka, died Wednesday at her home.
She was born Lady Irene Fitzgerald Coburg in County Kildare, Ireland. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha .
Mrs. Bush and her late husband, Frank S., came to Florida in 1925 from Elmira, New York, and in 1926 Mr. Bush built the first private residence in what was to become Opalocka.
The home, erected on land which was a gift from developer Glenn Curtiss, still stands at 1340 Perl Street. It is now an apartment building.
Mrs. Bush named the home "Pine Shadows" because "It was always filled with the charming play of light and shadow cast by the pines."
The Bushes were two of the 28 registered voters and freeholders who voted to charter the town of Opa-locka on May 14, 1926, in a building that is now home to the city's Water Department.
The Bush Electric Company, according to "A Dream of Araby", a book about the city written by the Bushes' first son, Frank S., installed the wiring in all of the Opa-locka buildings. The company was formed by Curtiss, developer of Hialeah, Miami Springs and Opa-locka.
Mrs. Bush rode almost daily at the Opa-locka Riding Academy during the late 1920's.
She was a guest of James Deering, original owner of Vizcaya, in the 1920's, and later became a member of the Vizcayans, a group dedicated to upkeep of the mansion.
In addition to her son, Frank S., Mrs. Bush is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall; 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. services at the Lowe-Hanks Okeechobee Road Funeral Home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from the Miami News for Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Bush, whose ancestors had ruled great empires, came with her husband, Frank, to the young place called Miami in the early 1920's and they became friends with aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.
One day, Curtiss took them out to a raw wilderness that the Indians called Opatisnawaockalocka, and he began describing vividly the beautiful city he wanted to develop there.
Irene, whose childhood had been filled with true stories of royal European courts and castles, turned to her friend and clapped her hands, exclaiming, "Oh, Glenn, it's like a dream from the Arabian Nights."
Curtiss went home that night, found in his library an illustrated volume of the fantasy tales told by the fantasy princess Scheherazade, and he began to read. The next day, or so the legend goes, he sent a copy of the book to his architect, Bernhardt Muller, in New York.
And thus the gates did open, and the minarets did rise in amethyst and turquoise, for the "theme town" of Opalocka.
Irene Bush, thus forever a part of a legend, was born Feb. 24, 1899, at Carlton House in County Kildare, Ireland, and christened Irene (pronounced I-ree-nee) Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, a great-granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Czar Alexander II of imperial Russia.
She was reared mostly in England and Scotland by a great-aunt after the early death of her Irish mother. Her father, Alfred, grandson of Victoria and Alexander, and son of Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had died of a mysterious gunshot wound just two weeks before she was born. His family, it was said, did not approve of his marriage although Irene's mother was the daughter of an Irish duke, surnamed Fitzgerald. [Note: From information provided by her son Frank FitzGerald-Bush, Irene's mother's father was Lord Charles FitzGerald (1859-1928), a son of the 4th Duke of Leinster.]
When she came of age, Irene chose to renounce the claims to noble title - and to possible fortune that might have gone with it - to marry the American she had met as a teenager on a trip and to become an American citizen herself.
She died Wednesday of cancer, in the modest home she shared with a son, Frank, in Northwest Dade not far from Opa-locka. She was 82, a widow, and had lost two of her four children.
"She had suffered from cancer for about 2 1/2 years," said Frank. "For the last six months we knew it was terminal. She died at home with her family around her as was her wish. It was painless."
In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall, of Boynton Beach and Cape Vincent, New York, and by nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
The family of Irene Bush will receive friends tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. and services will follow at the Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
___________________________________________________________________________________
from another newspaper obituary:
Bush, Irene Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, 82, widow of Frank Shepard Bush and only child of the late Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born 24 Feb. 1899 at Carlton House, County Kildare, Ireland, died Wed., 30th Sept., 1981 at her home near Opa Locka, the town which she and her husband helped found in 1926. Two of her children predeceased her, daughter, Judith Harriet (Mrs. James Houston Hines Jr.) died in 1948. A son, Jason Tyler Bush, killed in an aircraft accident at the Old Tamiami Airport in 1959. Survivors include a daughter, Janet (Mrs. Wendall T. Hall) of Boynton Beach and of Cape Vincent, N. Y.; a son, Frank S. Fitzgerald Bush and a grandson Jay Tyler Bush, both of Opa Locka; 8 other grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren.
Once active in civic affairs, she had been an ardent supporter of women's rights, prison reform and the abolition of capital punishment. She was formerly a member of many groups, including the English-Speaking Union and the Irish Georgian Society. In later years ha retained membership only in the Viscayans and in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston.
Family will receive friends 12 to 2 p.m. Sat. Funeral services, 2:00 p.m., Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
Irene Victoria Alexandra Isabel Bush, 82, a founder of Opalocka, died Wednesday at her home.
She was born Lady Irene Fitzgerald Coburg in County Kildare, Ireland. She was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and the daughter of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha .
Mrs. Bush and her late husband, Frank S., came to Florida in 1925 from Elmira, New York, and in 1926 Mr. Bush built the first private residence in what was to become Opalocka.
The home, erected on land which was a gift from developer Glenn Curtiss, still stands at 1340 Perl Street. It is now an apartment building.
Mrs. Bush named the home "Pine Shadows" because "It was always filled with the charming play of light and shadow cast by the pines."
The Bushes were two of the 28 registered voters and freeholders who voted to charter the town of Opa-locka on May 14, 1926, in a building that is now home to the city's Water Department.
The Bush Electric Company, according to "A Dream of Araby", a book about the city written by the Bushes' first son, Frank S., installed the wiring in all of the Opa-locka buildings. The company was formed by Curtiss, developer of Hialeah, Miami Springs and Opa-locka.
Mrs. Bush rode almost daily at the Opa-locka Riding Academy during the late 1920's.
She was a guest of James Deering, original owner of Vizcaya, in the 1920's, and later became a member of the Vizcayans, a group dedicated to upkeep of the mansion.
In addition to her son, Frank S., Mrs. Bush is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall; 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from noon until 2 p.m. services at the Lowe-Hanks Okeechobee Road Funeral Home.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from the Miami News for Oct. 2, 1981:
Irene Bush, whose ancestors had ruled great empires, came with her husband, Frank, to the young place called Miami in the early 1920's and they became friends with aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.
One day, Curtiss took them out to a raw wilderness that the Indians called Opatisnawaockalocka, and he began describing vividly the beautiful city he wanted to develop there.
Irene, whose childhood had been filled with true stories of royal European courts and castles, turned to her friend and clapped her hands, exclaiming, "Oh, Glenn, it's like a dream from the Arabian Nights."
Curtiss went home that night, found in his library an illustrated volume of the fantasy tales told by the fantasy princess Scheherazade, and he began to read. The next day, or so the legend goes, he sent a copy of the book to his architect, Bernhardt Muller, in New York.
And thus the gates did open, and the minarets did rise in amethyst and turquoise, for the "theme town" of Opalocka.
Irene Bush, thus forever a part of a legend, was born Feb. 24, 1899, at Carlton House in County Kildare, Ireland, and christened Irene (pronounced I-ree-nee) Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, a great-granddaughter of both Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Czar Alexander II of imperial Russia.
She was reared mostly in England and Scotland by a great-aunt after the early death of her Irish mother. Her father, Alfred, grandson of Victoria and Alexander, and son of Alfred, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had died of a mysterious gunshot wound just two weeks before she was born. His family, it was said, did not approve of his marriage although Irene's mother was the daughter of an Irish duke, surnamed Fitzgerald. [Note: From information provided by her son Frank FitzGerald-Bush, Irene's mother's father was Lord Charles FitzGerald (1859-1928), a son of the 4th Duke of Leinster.]
When she came of age, Irene chose to renounce the claims to noble title - and to possible fortune that might have gone with it - to marry the American she had met as a teenager on a trip and to become an American citizen herself.
She died Wednesday of cancer, in the modest home she shared with a son, Frank, in Northwest Dade not far from Opa-locka. She was 82, a widow, and had lost two of her four children.
"She had suffered from cancer for about 2 1/2 years," said Frank. "For the last six months we knew it was terminal. She died at home with her family around her as was her wish. It was painless."
In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Janet Hall, of Boynton Beach and Cape Vincent, New York, and by nine grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
The family of Irene Bush will receive friends tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m. and services will follow at the Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
___________________________________________________________________________________
from another newspaper obituary:
Bush, Irene Victoria Alexandra Louise Isabel, 82, widow of Frank Shepard Bush and only child of the late Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born 24 Feb. 1899 at Carlton House, County Kildare, Ireland, died Wed., 30th Sept., 1981 at her home near Opa Locka, the town which she and her husband helped found in 1926. Two of her children predeceased her, daughter, Judith Harriet (Mrs. James Houston Hines Jr.) died in 1948. A son, Jason Tyler Bush, killed in an aircraft accident at the Old Tamiami Airport in 1959. Survivors include a daughter, Janet (Mrs. Wendall T. Hall) of Boynton Beach and of Cape Vincent, N. Y.; a son, Frank S. Fitzgerald Bush and a grandson Jay Tyler Bush, both of Opa Locka; 8 other grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren.
Once active in civic affairs, she had been an ardent supporter of women's rights, prison reform and the abolition of capital punishment. She was formerly a member of many groups, including the English-Speaking Union and the Irish Georgian Society. In later years ha retained membership only in the Viscayans and in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston.
Family will receive friends 12 to 2 p.m. Sat. Funeral services, 2:00 p.m., Lowe-Hanks Funeral Home, 151 E. Okeechobee Road, Hialeah.
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