Rev. Jay Luman Bush, First Presbyterian Church Pastor, Dies

ORANGE —  Funeral services will be held Friday for the Rev. Jay Luman Bush, who served 19 years as head pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange. Bush died Sunday while suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 76.

Bush, who was born in Holland, Mich., in 1914, first pursued a business career, working for such companies as Mobil Oil Co. and General Motors Corp.

He was ordained into the ministry after attending Princeton seminary school in the mid-1950s and went on to serve in Pennsylvania and Maryland before coming to Orange County in 1960.

When Bush came to First Presbyterian Church, the congregation had about 1,400 members. Under his leadership, the numbers swelled to 2,300, said the Rev. John Davies, the church’s current pastor.

“He was the kind of inspiring leader who had many close relationships and was deeply concerned for the community,” Davies said. “He was a very caring pastor.”

Bush was active in community affairs. He served on the board of trustees of Southern California Homes and was chairman of the Orange County Senior Citizens Housing Committee. He was also president of the Rotary Club of Orange and a member of the advisory board of Orange National Bank, Davies said.

In addition to his work in Orange County, Bush was a moderator of the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, which helped Presbyterian churches in Orange and Los Angeles counties meet shared ministry goals, Davies said.

Bush is survived by his wife, Jane Bush of Tustin; a daughter, Lynn Reynolds of Mission Viejo; a son, Larry Bush of Orange; two stepdaughters, Barbara Messenger of San Diego and Jackie Shaffer of Schenectady, N.Y.; and a brother, Robert Bush of St. Paul, Minn.

Services Friday will be held at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Orange.