By:Angela Marshall
Mr. Bush's sister, Andrea Burnham, spoke to the Herald last Friday, which would have been her brother's 62nd birthday. She recalled a loving man who dedicated his life to helping others through his role as a nurse.
Mr. Bush was stationed in Japan for part of a three-year tour of duty in the Air Force. After returning from the military, he attended Nassau Community College and worked as a nurse, aiding senior citizens in various nursing homes on Long Island before becoming disabled himself.
Mr. Bush moved to Rockville Manor, a federal housing complex for senior citizens and the disabled, in the mid-1990s.
The fire is believed to have started when Mr. Bush fell asleep while smoking, but his insurance company is still investigating, and the Nassau County fire marshal's office has yet to make a determination. Lack of answers is frustrating the victim's family.
A few residents of the complex complained during a meeting of the Rockville Centre Housing Authority board last week that fire alarms could not be heard in their apartments. "I was asleep, and it didn't wake me up," said one. She said she was awakened by the sound of the fire trucks arriving at the complex.
The Housing Authority Board said it is in compliance with all fire codes, but is working to step up the alarm system.
"Raynold was a true competitor who very much liked a good challenge," his family wrote in a tribute handed out at Mr. Bush's funeral service. "In high school, he high jumped and in the Air Force he was a successful boxer. He loved to play all forms of card games. But what one most remembers about him was his sense of humor."
His sister described Mr. Bush's strong free spirit and said the song "My Way," sung by Frank Sinatra, was the perfect way to sum up his life. "To him life was just a bowl of cherries," the family wrote in tribute. "He really loved the good life, and he lived it to the fullest. He sure enough, 'Did it his way.'"
In addition to his sister, Mr. Bush is survived by his mother, Pearl Robinson Bush, his ex-wife, Evelyn, and three sons, Keith Lorenzo, Raynold Adrain and Raynold Rodney.
