John William Bushby 89, of Flanders, a well-known craftsman of colonial furniture and restoration, died on June 30, 2014

 at his home in Flanders after a long struggle with COPD.

A resident of Flanders for nearly 40 years, he had been born in Westfield on January 10, 1925. He was the youngest son of Walter Edward and Martha Sparkman Bushby who were long-time residents of Westfield.

Mr. Bushby was drafted into the Army Air Corps in 1943 and retired as an air force Master Sergeant following the Korean War. During his deployment overseas he flew 50 combat missions over Europe with the 44^th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart for his service and was credited with downing four German ME-109 fighters before being wounded by enemy ground fire. During the D-Day invasion he flew in the nose turret of his B-24 Liberator as the lead bomber over the Normandy targets. Wounded in combat he returned to Westfield in 1945 to finish high school. His wartime photo was the inspiration for the Harry Braham series of espionage novels.

In 1947 he married Ann Cecelia Braham of Westfield. They had two children, John M. Bushby, 66 of Flanders and Mary Virginia who passed away in 1965. Ann predeceased him in March of 2000. After a successful career with Magnus Chemical Company and its successor, Economic Laboratories, he and his wife relocated to Stuart, Florida. After a short stay there, they returned to New Jersey and opened Custom Crafting a custom woodworking and furniture company in Flanders. Operating purely by referral, Mr. Bushby built custom furniture for fine homes throughout Morris, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. Arrangements are by the Davis & Hepplewhite Funeral Home, 96 Main Street, Succasunna 973-584-7264 (davishepplewhitefh.com)