Death of W. Russell Buster, Jr. – Retired President of Bush Hog
Retired President of Bush Hog, W. Russell Buster, Jr., age 93, died after a short illness.
After a stint in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, Buster started his job at Bush Hog in the early 1950s — right after the company had been founded.
Before joining Bush Hog, he had worked at Southland Mower and then Rawls Machine and Supply, where he began experimenting with a design for a heavy-duty rotary mower that eventually became part of the Bush Hog line.
“He was critical in the formative years of Bush Hog,” said James Bearden, who retired from Bush Hog in 2013. “He helped form that company. We went through a great deal of growth under Russell’s leadership. We had plants in Kansas, Texas, California and Illinois and Russell was very instrumental in growing the business through expansion and other plants.”
Buster became president of Bush Hog in the 1980s and held that position until he retired in 1993 at age 70.