Charly Busch

Charly "Gene" Davis Busch, 83, died Sunday, December 4, 2022, due to complications related to her cancer. She died peacefully in her sleep with her eldest daughter, Xan, by her side.


She leaves her husband, Dr. Courtney Charles Busch; Her daughters, Xan Busch and Andrea Rutz; daughter Greer Yacavone and husband Gary, son Courtney Busch Jr. and wife Olga; and seven grandchildren Blake, Haley, Logan, Alexis, Roan, Hayden, and Courtney III.


She was preceded in death by her daughter, Paige Busch Hess Guthrie, who died in 2007, at the age of 31.


Born in Magnolia, Mississippi January 14, 1939 as the only child of Charles Edward Davis and Ethel Mae Compton Davis, she was raised by her parents to be a strong, well-educated, devout Catholic woman. After graduating from St. Mary of the Pines High School in 1959, she moved with her parents to New Orleans and started college at the University of New Orleans. While going to school, she worked as a temp at the United States Department of Agriculture. It wasn't long before her beauty caught the eye of the executives and she was hired to do some modeling for the infamous astronaut drink, Tang.


It was at the USDA that she met the love of her life, Courtney. They soon married and moved to Auburn, Alabama where she continued to pursue her college degree and graduated from Auburn University with Honors and a Bachelor's of Education in 1967. She and Courtney started a family and moved back to Metairie, Louisiana where she raised four children, adopted the New Orleans culture, and had a varied and fascinating career.


Gene taught for a catholic elementary school, was the secretary for the Chief Advertising Agent at General Electric, and eventually braved the world with Courtney as they started their own business, Busch and Associates, Incorporated. Gene managed the business as the Chief Financial Officer for their Louisiana Engineering Corporation from 1974 until her passing in 2022.


In addition to being a savvy business woman and devoted wife and mother, she became very involved in her community. She helped coordinate and manage USAA and AAU Track and Field events, became a master of square dancing, and participated with Courtney and the Centurions Krewe for Mardi Gras. They danced the night away at many balls, raised two Centurions queens, and attended countless parades. An avid reader and cook, family and friends of Gene looked forward to an invite to her dinner table. She made some mean crawfish etouffee, barbequed shrimp, red beans and rice, turtle soup, and much more.


Gene and Courtney relocated to Gulf Shores, Alabama as empty nesters, continued their successful engineering business, enjoyed the beach life, became volunteers for a local sea turtle protection group, and raised their granddaughter, Logan. They spent countless hours walking and monitoring the beach for signs of nesting sites and cleaning up hazards. She passed on her passions to her children and grandchildren, by taking them to view sea turtle hatchings, educating them on beach protection, and teaching them to cook delicious food.


After many wonderful years at the beach, the hurricanes eventually drove them away. At last, Gene began semi-retirement and moved with Courtney to enjoy the wide open spaces of the countryside in Grand Bay, Alabama.


A memorial mass will be held at Our Lady of the Lake in Mandeville, Louisiana. Details will be shared at a later date.