In pre-school, Emily Busch hopped on a tricycle and pedaled away, heading past the long lane at school and through the big gates, wanting to explore the world outside.
She wasn’t a homebody by any sort, her sister Cat Russell said. Adventure was always in her blood, taking her through Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America later in life. Along her way, she picked up Japanese, served as an apprentice to established jewelers and set up more than 10 orphanages.
But on the morning of Feb. 25, Busch — a 61-year-old Denver jeweler and martial arts instructor — died from an acute asthma attack. She left behind a sister and friends who were unaware that the immensely private and active woman suffered from asthma.
“She had an Emily life that nobody really knew. She was that private,” Russell said. “No one can fully say that they knew her.”
Russell and Busch’s co-workers at Nippon Kan, the largest Aikido martial arts dojo in the Rocky Mountain region, described the Emily they knew as passionate and determined, humbled and calm, and someone filled with joy and always had a smile on her face.
Busch was born and raised in Denver. While in college, she spent a year in Japan — leaving for the country without knowing the language, Nippon Kan Chief Technical Instructor Bryon Hays said. While there, she took up an apprenticeship with a Japanese jeweler.
The year came to an end, but instead of returning back home, Busch joined two other friends and spent another year traveling around Southeast Asia, going to the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, among other countries, Russell said. In Bali, she took up another apprenticeship with a silver jeweler.
Throughout this time, Russell said her parents supported Busch’s travels despite only receiving a few letters updating them on how she was doing.
Her youthful travels shaped the rest of Busch’s life, Russell said. Her sister went on to start Emily Busch In Gold, Silver & Platinum — where she made a new engagement ring for Hays’ wife. She also became a sixth-degree black belt, spending 32 years at Nippon Kan, where she was vice president, taught classes and became an integral force in the organization’s Aikido Humanitarian Active Network.
At AHAN, she set up 10 orphanages that provided food, shelter and educational opportunities, currently serving more than 1,000 children. She introduced more than 20,000 school kids in the Denver area to Japanese culture through the organization’s cultural education initiative.
Russell and Hays said she was always trying to help others, putting their needs above her own. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes but didn’t draw attention to herself, they said.
“Would she have wanted to be remembered as a person by herself? I don’t know.” Hays said. “Would she have wanted to be remembered as a part of something? That would be yes.”
Russell is hosting an open memorial for her sister at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Fairmont Cemetery. A reception follows. Nippon Kan is hosting a Shinobu Kai, or celebration of life, for Busch from 12-3 p.m. Saturday at the Domo Japanese Country Food Restaurant, 1365 Osage St., Denver.
