When Willie Bussey was 16, like most teens he was excited about getting his license. But unlike most teens, Bussey wanted a license to fly more than he wanted a license to drive.
“He was far more interested in flying,” said his wife Ann Lee Bussey. “But yes, he did go ahead and get a driver’s license too,” she added with a laugh.
Licensed to fly a 16, Willie Bussey dreamed of flying since he was a child, his wife said.
“His mother told me that whenever he got the wishbone at dinner, he’d wish for an airplane and an flight suit,” Bussey said, of her husband. “I’ve got a picture of him when he’s 7- or 8-years-old in a flight suit.”
Bussey went on to become a pilot for the former Eastern Air Lines and later became a flight instructor for an international airline.
Willie Clifton Bussey Sr., called Bill by friends, of Stone Mountain, died Friday of complication from heart failure. He was 77.
A burial, with full military honors, is planned for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Resthaven Gardens of Memory, Decatur. A memorial service will follow at noon, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Stone Mountain. A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
An Atlanta native, Bussey who graduated from Southwest DeKalb High School, worked at the Atlanta airport in the early ‘50s. Most of the time he traded his $4-an-hour pay for flying time, his wife said.
“He used to say every now and then he’d have to take the pay, for a date or something, but that wasn’t often,” she said.
He earned his pilot’s license the summer of 1953 and joined the Georgia Air National Guard in 1954, where he started pilot training in January 1956. After he graduated in June 1957, he attended a flight school at Perrin Air Force Base in Texas, before returning to Georgia. By August 1959 Bussey was working for Eastern Air Lines, where he spent the majority of his career. There wasn’t much that could keep him on the ground, not even a furlough, said Todd Jennings, a fellow pilot and friend.
“He did some crop dusting in Louisiana for a company owned by Delta Air Lines,” his friend said. Once the furlough was over Bussey returned to Eastern and continued his career. During his tenure, he flew a number of aircraft for Eastern, including the 747.
“That was kind of a novelty for most of us, because the 747s were only with Eastern for a short period of time,” Jennings said. “But he always bid to fly the latest technology.”
Bussey, who was a captain for 19 years, retired from Eastern in 1991. He then flew and trained pilots for EVA Air Lines, until he retired in 1998.
“Training and aviation safety were a main concern of his,” said Jennings. “And he was quite good at training other pilots.”
After retirement, Bussey continued to fly with friends, including Jennings, until a couple of years ago.
“He kept up to date on aviation technology in retirement by meeting with a group of pilots five to six days a week,” Jennings said.
If anyone asked Bussey to reflect on his career in aviation, he’d quickly tell them, “I never had a job, and I loved every minute of it,” his wife said.
In addition to his wife of 50 years, Bussey is survived by his daughter, Laura Alice Bussey of Covington; sons, Willie Clifton “Clif” Bussey Jr., and David Heath Bussey, both of Atlanta; and sisters, Gerrelldine Bomar and Cindy Edmondson, both of Stockbridge.
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