Gloria Neiger Bushong

Gloria Neiger Bushong flew into the hands of the Lord on December 20, 2019. She was born in Miami, Florida, Dade County in 1940, the daughter of Charles Edwin Neiger and Naomi Lucille Boyd Neiger. She is the widow of Russell Keith Bushong, who passed away in 2008. Gloria’s brother, William Edward Neiger, also pre-deceased her. Gloria and Russell organized and created a Bushong Reunion at the New Market Farm of the Bushongs, which sits on the New Market battlefield in New Market, Virginia. Those reunions occurred for 20 years. Gloria was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, on the Boyd side of her family. She was a lifetime member of the New Market Historical Society of Virginia, a member of the Imperial Polk Genealogical Society of Lakeland, a member of the Lakeland Republican Federated Women’s Club and the Florida State Federated Republican Executive Committee of Polk County, representing her precinct, 235. She was a very outspoken political activist. Also, while living in Dade County, Gloria helped with the recording (on key punch cards) of voter registrations in Dade County. Gloria was very active in Crime Watch in three different neighborhoods and was responsible for having streetlights installed for 600 residents in Dade County Florida, when she lived there, and also, later on, for having streetlights installed in Lakeland, Florida. Gloria Transcribed 55 years of diaries from Matty Bushong Good and the transcriptions were published in two volumes and are available in the library in Virginia. She was also on the committee that recorded every tombstone in every cemetery in Polk County; those recordings are reported and published in nine volumes of cemetery books available in the Polk County library. Gloria was very active in her Presbyterian church and related missions projects while she lived in Miami, and then in Lakeland joined First Presbyterian Church where she has been a member for 21 years. Gloria is survived by her daughter Jill Bushong Cullinan-Haight/(Marty) and granddaughter Kelly Jean Cullinan, and son Scott Bushong/(Maria), and granddaughters Victoria Ariel Bushong, Kaylee Bushong Coons/(Marine Corporal Devon Coons, stationed in Hawaii), Brianna Marie Bushong, and only grandson, Evan Scott Bushong. A memorial service will be held Friday, January 3 at 10:30 A.M. at the First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Dr., Lakeland, FL 33801. Interment will be in the Columbarium on the church property. Gloria expressed a wish for “no flowers.” Instead, contributions should be made to First Presbyterian Church, Lakeland, and/or to the Civil War Museum of the South, 8895 George Collins Parkway, New Market, Virginia, 22844.

Gloria Neiger Bushong

December 1, 1940 - December 20, 2019