Ina Bushon Funeral and Memorial Fund
Donation protected
On Monday, April 13, 2020, Ina Rosa Bushon passed away from complications related to a stroke. This is devastating news for those of us who loved Ina as she was such a force for good in the world, always ready to either laugh with a friend or sit with them in their sorrow. She touched so many people throughout her life in so many ways.
Ina's family could use some help with funeral, medical and end of life expenses, as no one in the home is currently working because of the pandemic.
Ina graduated from Providence High School in San Antonio, Texas, in 1979, and attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, before becoming a dental technician.
She met her husband Carl at the dental lab where they both worked and married in 1985. Ina and Carl had their daughter Shiloh Allene Bushon on June 4, 1991. Shiloh may have been an only child, but she grew up with a house full of dogs and cats all around her. Ina loved animals and she never missed a chance to help an animal if she could. That passion for animals spurred her to volunteer at the San Antonio Humane Society in the early 2000’s where she helped clean kennels with other Jewish friends on Christmas day (to give the shelter staff a proper holiday), gave Boy and Girl Scout tours and programs, and taught several programs at Camp Humane over several summers. Ina also was a member of the Delta Society, Pet Partners Program, a group who took therapy pets to nursing homes and hospitals. Most people had therapy dogs, but Ina, of course, had a therapy cat named Cocoa who was easygoing enough to become one of the groups only therapy felines at the time.
Ina’s passion for her Judaism was well-known. She took many Adult Education classes at Temple Beth El through the years, and eventually studied and celebrated her B’nai Mitzvah in 2002, where her teacher said her deliverance and understanding of the Torah were extraordinary. Ina’s Jewish learning continued beyond her B’nai Mitzvah. She became a Shlichat Tzibbor (volunteer service leader) at Temple Beth El and was often asked to lead Friday night services in the Barshop Auditorium or to light Shabbat candles or read prayers. Ina learned to read and chant Torah and studied for many months in advance before delivering the weekly portion. She was always taking Hebrew classes or reading about her faith to further her education. She served on Temple Beth El’s Youth Committee and the Lifelong Jewish Learning Committee.
Ina’s love of Judaism resulted in her desire to teach Religious School at Temple Beth El. She taught 4th grade Bet Hebrew and 5th grade Judaics for many years. She loved Jewish stories and fables and liked to find stories that pertained to the students’ weekly lesson, so that she could tell them at the right moment during class. One of her favorite stories to share was “The Sound of Money,” a short little tale that she said showed the humor and wit of the Jewish faith in dispensing fairness and justice to all.
Between 2009 and 2011, Ina was President of Sisterhood. She loved Sisterhood and the opportunities it brought to lead as well as to learn and grow in her faith. In 2009, she attended the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Toronto where she said she had never been so moved by seeing so many people living and learning their faith. It was always her dream to attend more of these conferences.
In 2012, Ina joined Temple Beth El’s first Mussar group (Mussar is the balance and exploration of one’s soul traits within an ancient Jewish context), where she learned, along with many dear friends. She kept up her Mussar practice weekly through dinner conversations with other Mussar learners.
Ina worked as senior summer counselor for Temple Beth El CreativKids SA Summer Day Camp between 2015 and 2018. She taught art, STEM activities, and cooking to the young students. Being with these kids during the summer brought her great joy, and she loved to look for projects for them to learn and enjoy.
Ina visited Temple members living in nursing homes as part of Temple Beth El’s Yad B’Yad program. That’s where she met a woman who she continued to visit for 17 years, celebrating Jewish holidays, debating politics and just being a great girlfriend to someone 40 years her senior.
Ina loved attending the Women’s Passover Seder and High Holy Day services. But by far, her favorite holiday was the Sabbath. She loved to attend and lead services, light candles, and say prayers. She said no matter where she was, she always lit the Sabbath candles on Friday night.
Her curiosity about religion lead to many “field trips” with friends to other Jewish congregations and even other religious places to learn about different faiths. Ina hung out in the Temple Beth El Gift Shop a lot, which resulted in her being the Temple Beth El Gift Shop Manager for a year. She also was President of the Zachary Middle School PTA when her daughter was a student there. Her heart was always very focused on education.
It’s probably a sure bet that Ina has visited every Half Price Book Store between San Antonio and Austin. Some of her favorite books were books that furthered her Jewish faith, Mussar studies, or contributed to her Jewish storytelling. She also read every book in the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, The Dalai Lama’s Cat series by David Michie, and anything and everything Neil Gaiman ever wrote. One of her favorite current television shows is called “Good Omens” – a Gaiman story that basically turns a famous religious story on its head. Her friends will tell you though, that she often bought multiple copies of books, often forgetting about past purchases. Rather than return them to the bookstore, she instead gave these extra copies away to her friends. An adoring little habit that her friends loved.
As much as Ina loved to learn, it sometimes surprised people to learn that she loved campy horror movies, like Sharknado, Tremors, Arachnophobia, and various monster movies. In fact, she was somewhat of an expert on B-movies, and during most of her life she went to the movies at least once a week. However, her favorite movie, “Coco,” was neither a monster movie nor campy horror film, but an animated story. Shiloh says, ”She loved that movie. She listened to the soundtrack every day and sung every song four or five times a day. She watched the movie dozens of times. She could never get enough of that movie.” She also loved Brother, where are thou? and Princess Bride.
What won’t be normal again is our life without this wonderful woman. Ina understood what was important in life and was entirely devoted to family, friends and her faith. She adored her daughter, lovingly picked on her brother as only a big sister could and was completely devoted to her mother who is one of the nicest women in the entire world. She was cheeky with her friends who will readily admit, you always had a lot of laughs with Ina. She was funny, intelligent and most of all centered. She never gave up during difficult times – and there were many – because she relied on her faith to keep her grounded. She provided sound counsel to her friends and was always ready to help those she loved. Somehow, she always made you feel better about yourself, which says a lot about her character.
We have lost a light in the world. May her memory be a blessing to all those who love her.
Ina is survived by her daughter, Shiloh Bushon, her mother, Rosamalia Wood, and her brother Warren Wood, all from San Antonio, Texas, as well as cousins, Luis Suarez, Juan Suarez, and Jana Suarez from Mexico. She was preceded in death by her husband Carl Bushon and her father Warren Wood.
If you are able to help, thank you.
Ina's family could use some help with funeral, medical and end of life expenses, as no one in the home is currently working because of the pandemic.
Ina graduated from Providence High School in San Antonio, Texas, in 1979, and attended Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, before becoming a dental technician.
She met her husband Carl at the dental lab where they both worked and married in 1985. Ina and Carl had their daughter Shiloh Allene Bushon on June 4, 1991. Shiloh may have been an only child, but she grew up with a house full of dogs and cats all around her. Ina loved animals and she never missed a chance to help an animal if she could. That passion for animals spurred her to volunteer at the San Antonio Humane Society in the early 2000’s where she helped clean kennels with other Jewish friends on Christmas day (to give the shelter staff a proper holiday), gave Boy and Girl Scout tours and programs, and taught several programs at Camp Humane over several summers. Ina also was a member of the Delta Society, Pet Partners Program, a group who took therapy pets to nursing homes and hospitals. Most people had therapy dogs, but Ina, of course, had a therapy cat named Cocoa who was easygoing enough to become one of the groups only therapy felines at the time.
Ina’s passion for her Judaism was well-known. She took many Adult Education classes at Temple Beth El through the years, and eventually studied and celebrated her B’nai Mitzvah in 2002, where her teacher said her deliverance and understanding of the Torah were extraordinary. Ina’s Jewish learning continued beyond her B’nai Mitzvah. She became a Shlichat Tzibbor (volunteer service leader) at Temple Beth El and was often asked to lead Friday night services in the Barshop Auditorium or to light Shabbat candles or read prayers. Ina learned to read and chant Torah and studied for many months in advance before delivering the weekly portion. She was always taking Hebrew classes or reading about her faith to further her education. She served on Temple Beth El’s Youth Committee and the Lifelong Jewish Learning Committee.
Ina’s love of Judaism resulted in her desire to teach Religious School at Temple Beth El. She taught 4th grade Bet Hebrew and 5th grade Judaics for many years. She loved Jewish stories and fables and liked to find stories that pertained to the students’ weekly lesson, so that she could tell them at the right moment during class. One of her favorite stories to share was “The Sound of Money,” a short little tale that she said showed the humor and wit of the Jewish faith in dispensing fairness and justice to all.
Between 2009 and 2011, Ina was President of Sisterhood. She loved Sisterhood and the opportunities it brought to lead as well as to learn and grow in her faith. In 2009, she attended the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Toronto where she said she had never been so moved by seeing so many people living and learning their faith. It was always her dream to attend more of these conferences.
In 2012, Ina joined Temple Beth El’s first Mussar group (Mussar is the balance and exploration of one’s soul traits within an ancient Jewish context), where she learned, along with many dear friends. She kept up her Mussar practice weekly through dinner conversations with other Mussar learners.
Ina worked as senior summer counselor for Temple Beth El CreativKids SA Summer Day Camp between 2015 and 2018. She taught art, STEM activities, and cooking to the young students. Being with these kids during the summer brought her great joy, and she loved to look for projects for them to learn and enjoy.
Ina visited Temple members living in nursing homes as part of Temple Beth El’s Yad B’Yad program. That’s where she met a woman who she continued to visit for 17 years, celebrating Jewish holidays, debating politics and just being a great girlfriend to someone 40 years her senior.
Ina loved attending the Women’s Passover Seder and High Holy Day services. But by far, her favorite holiday was the Sabbath. She loved to attend and lead services, light candles, and say prayers. She said no matter where she was, she always lit the Sabbath candles on Friday night.
Her curiosity about religion lead to many “field trips” with friends to other Jewish congregations and even other religious places to learn about different faiths. Ina hung out in the Temple Beth El Gift Shop a lot, which resulted in her being the Temple Beth El Gift Shop Manager for a year. She also was President of the Zachary Middle School PTA when her daughter was a student there. Her heart was always very focused on education.
It’s probably a sure bet that Ina has visited every Half Price Book Store between San Antonio and Austin. Some of her favorite books were books that furthered her Jewish faith, Mussar studies, or contributed to her Jewish storytelling. She also read every book in the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, The Dalai Lama’s Cat series by David Michie, and anything and everything Neil Gaiman ever wrote. One of her favorite current television shows is called “Good Omens” – a Gaiman story that basically turns a famous religious story on its head. Her friends will tell you though, that she often bought multiple copies of books, often forgetting about past purchases. Rather than return them to the bookstore, she instead gave these extra copies away to her friends. An adoring little habit that her friends loved.
As much as Ina loved to learn, it sometimes surprised people to learn that she loved campy horror movies, like Sharknado, Tremors, Arachnophobia, and various monster movies. In fact, she was somewhat of an expert on B-movies, and during most of her life she went to the movies at least once a week. However, her favorite movie, “Coco,” was neither a monster movie nor campy horror film, but an animated story. Shiloh says, ”She loved that movie. She listened to the soundtrack every day and sung every song four or five times a day. She watched the movie dozens of times. She could never get enough of that movie.” She also loved Brother, where are thou? and Princess Bride.
What won’t be normal again is our life without this wonderful woman. Ina understood what was important in life and was entirely devoted to family, friends and her faith. She adored her daughter, lovingly picked on her brother as only a big sister could and was completely devoted to her mother who is one of the nicest women in the entire world. She was cheeky with her friends who will readily admit, you always had a lot of laughs with Ina. She was funny, intelligent and most of all centered. She never gave up during difficult times – and there were many – because she relied on her faith to keep her grounded. She provided sound counsel to her friends and was always ready to help those she loved. Somehow, she always made you feel better about yourself, which says a lot about her character.
We have lost a light in the world. May her memory be a blessing to all those who love her.
Ina is survived by her daughter, Shiloh Bushon, her mother, Rosamalia Wood, and her brother Warren Wood, all from San Antonio, Texas, as well as cousins, Luis Suarez, Juan Suarez, and Jana Suarez from Mexico. She was preceded in death by her husband Carl Bushon and her father Warren Wood.
If you are able to help, thank you.
Organizer
Cathy Rosenthal
Organizer
Austin, TX