Konrad Busse

Dr. Konrad Busse We are mourning the loss on Saturday, April 20, 2013, of our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Dr. Konrad Busse, born in Hannover, Germany, in 1929. The son of art historian, Kurt Busse and writer, Elisabeth Busse-Wilson, Konrad spent his formative years during the Second World War moving to various places as a result of bombings and evacuations. Lake Constance in Southern Germany became a safe refuge where he made many life-long friends among his classmates. After a year at the University of Freiburg, he was among the first groups of German students post-World War II to be granted a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the University of Iowa. His year in America was a memorable one, in part because he met his future wife, Perella Cornwell, at the University. Returning to Germany, he completed his studies at the University of Bonn earning doctorates in Economics and History. Konrad and Perella married in Germany in 1955 and raised their five children while living in Europe and the United States. His career led him from Bonn to UNESCO in Paris, then to the World Bank in Washington and subsequently to a "sister bank", the KfW, in Frankfurt. In 1982, Konrad and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where aside from his consultancies with various European banks, his involvement with Special Olympics came to be of great importance to him. Konrad and Perella have spent a good many of their 58 years of marriage in Charlottesville. Survivors include their children, Nicole Busse, Christian Busse, Andrea and Troy Heskett, Robin and Manana Busse, and Leslie Busse Waller. Also grieving the loss of "Papi" are his seven granddaughters, Katie, Elizabeth, Heather, Hannah, Alice, Kimberly, and Anastasia.

This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.