Harold "Bud" Imbus

GREENSBORO Harold "Bud" Imbus, 90, died February 17, 2019 at his home in Greensboro, North Carolina surrounded by loved ones. Born July 1, 1928 in Cincinnati, OH, he moved with his family to Dayton, OH where he grew up with his parents Harold and Gertrude Imbus, two brothers, Edward and Don and his two sisters, Mary Ellen and Suzanne. He is predeceased by his wife, Ann, his parents, brother Edward, and sister Mary Ellen. He graduated from high school in Dayton and then attended Notre Dame University where he graduated in 1950 with a B.S. in pre-medicine. He attended the University of Cincinnati Medical College where he received his MD degree in 1954. After a short period of practice in the small town of Williston, FL, he enlisted in the US Naval Reserve where he served two years of active duty as a medical officer. In 1955 he married Elizabeth Ann Turner, at that time a student nurse, whom he met while interning in Miami, FL. They have five wonderful children, and they enjoyed a wonderful married life of 62 years. He leaves his grown children and spouses: Mark and Debbie Imbus, Scott and Kendra Imbus, Beth (Imbus) and Michael DePopas, Tom and Linda Imbus, and Mary (Imbus) and Jeff Meadows. He leaves nine grandchildren: Christopher Imbus (Marcel), Catherine Imbus, Eric DePopas, Kevin DePopas (Ashleigh), Noah and Jocelyn Imbus, Paul and Meghan Winchester, and Hunter Meadows. After serving in the Navy, he returned to the University of Cincinnati, where he studied occupational medicine and received an additional doctorate in industrial medicine. He stayed at the university and was an assistant professor of occupational medicine. In 1963 he joined a practice of occupational medicine in Marion, OH. In 1968 he and his family moved to Merritt Island, FL, where he was deputy director of medical services at the Kennedy Space Center. He was acting medical director at the Space Center when the astronauts were lifted into space on the Apollo 11 and landed on the moon. In 1970, he moved his family to Greensboro, North Carolina, where Bud and Ann have lived ever since. He took the newly-established position of medical director of Burlington Industries. There he was active in establishing programs for the prevention of and care of employee health problems from exposure to cotton dust and noise. As a pioneer of occupational medicine, he supervised programs that included the annual testing of 10,000 employees' lung function and hearing tests on 30,000 employees. He supervised the occupational health nursing program which included approximately 130 nurses in manufacturing plants across the United States and foreign countries. He served on the National Advisory Committee of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and also was advisor to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. In addition, he served on numerous boards and committees dealing with occupational health issues. He published numerous articles and gave many presentations about occupational health issues. In 1982, he co-founded Health and Hygiene, Inc., which provided occupational health services to manufacturing companies. The company grew to approximately 75 employees by the time he retired in 1994. He then provided occupational health consulting services to many companies until he fully retired in 2003 at the age of 75. In retirement, he and his beloved wife Ann (aka "Tweeter") enjoyed spending time at their beach house in Surf City, North Carolina. They also spent nine lovely winters in Naples, FL. They traveled extensively visiting all 50 states, over 50 countries, and all seven continents. Bud loved to fish and boat off the coast of North Carolina, in the Everglades, in the Gulf Coast of southwestern Florida, in the lakes of North and South Carolina, and in Canada. Aviation was an important part of his life. He was a pilot of small planes and over the years owned several planes which he used for family trips and his practice. Bud loved to travel to remote places like the Arctic coast of Alaska, Greenland, Northern Canada, and Antarctica. He also enjoyed following the Carolina Panthers and Notre Dame football teams. He worked at a number of volunteer activities, including teaching English to immigrants at Reading Connections, interviewing people in need of financial assistance at Greensboro Urban Ministry, and helping at Faith Action International. Family time was important to Bud. For 30 years, all of his family and grandchildren would gather at their Topsail Island beach house and would spend time deep sea fishing, crabbing, camping, and boating. Bud would wake his kids up at 5 a.m. to go fishing before the sun came up; otherwise, they would "shoot the whole day." When Bud moved to Greensboro, he met many lifelong friends from Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, and he continued these relationships up until his passing. His family would like to thank the team of people who cared for him in his later years, Kimberly Romie, Heidi Cohen, Amani Kipp, Brenda Sexton, and Brenda Williamson, and his next-door neighbor Ed Hawthorne, for all of their love and compassion. He belonged to the Edward R. Murrow Kiwanis Club and enjoyed their comradery at meetings and other affairs. Bud and Ann were members of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church for many years. The family will receive visitors from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, February 22, 2019, at Forbis and Dick Funeral Home, 5926 Friendly Avenue. Funeral services will be held at Our Lady of Grace Church, 2203 West Market Street at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, 2019, with a lunch reception afterwards at the Parish Life Center. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Greensboro Urban Ministry, 305 Gate City Blvd. Greensboro NC 27406 or to Hospice of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27405. Forbis and Dick Guilford Chapel is serving the Imbus family and online condolences may be offered at www.forbisanddick.com.