Celeste “CeeCee” Anne Busby, 83, passed away peacefully at her home in Yorktown, Virginia, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
Celeste, an Iowa native for over 50 years, also created loving homes in New York and Pennsylvania. When planning for retirement, she and her husband sought milder winters and have thus called Virginia home for the past 24 years.
Celeste attended public schools in Waterloo and Fort Dodge, Iowa, before attending Gates Business College. She took great pride in her professional work, including employment as a bookkeeper and sales associate for Zales Jewelry and later as a registered ophthalmic assistant and office manager to Dr. Greif in Waterloo, Iowa. After all of her children were in school, Celeste pursued further education, attending Wartburg College and Upper Iowa University while also working at the AEA7 Education Agency in Cedar Falls, Iowa, as a parent advisor, writer, and editor of several newsletters.
Celeste was a night owl and loved staying up late to share stories, a custom instilled in her as a child around the family kitchen table. She would combine a love of writing with her hobby of genealogy to author several detailed family histories. Later in life, she found joy and friendships through her cherished Red Hat Society, a social club for exceptional ladies brimming with moxie.
A devoted wife and mother of three, Celeste raised her family in a two-story brick home overlooking the Cedar River in Waverly, Iowa. She blessed her children with the invaluable gift of self-reliance, patiently giving help when needed and allowing them to learn from their many mistakes. While respectful of traditional roles, Celeste insisted that her boys could cook and clean, and her daughter was proficient in car and home maintenance. And when her children were frustrated and asked why they needed to learn something new, she would always give them a loving hug and gently reply, “Because I won’t always be around to help you.”
Preceded in death by her mother, Grace G. Trainor; her adoptive father, M. Richard Eggleston; and her biological father, Frank “Earl” Baum, Celeste is survived by her husband of 59 years, Bill, and her children, Matthew (Rhonda), Tyler, and Megan (Eric).
A private interment and Celebration of Life will be held for the family. Memorial contributions may be made to: Indigent Hospice Fund, ℅ Medi Home Health & Hospice, 530 Independence Parkway, Suite 200, Chesapeake, VA 23320.