Of those of us who were truly children of the ’60s, Art Busse was among the great exemplars. He died of prostate cancer Dec. 3, 2018.
He came to Princeton with the delegation from New Trier, as a swimming star who swam for two years with us while becoming aware of the restive world beyond the gates. A Princeton professor fatefully advised that he might make more of his social conscience at Stanford, and he left us in 1968 for his adoptive home in the Bay Area. He graduated with honors and co-founded the Stanford SDS. He was a thoughtful leader of his friends there, as he had been with us.
He spent much of his career actively working in the community around him, first as a community organizer in the East Bay, then as a visionary designer and builder of homes and intriguing conceptual and often award-winning structures in the area with Busse Building, as well as his own unique rural residence in Sonoma.
Art is survived by his admiring sons, Brian and Eric; by his sister Bonnie Pauli; and by his many close friends stretching from college days to his architectural clients. Along with them, we will miss his presence, his inspiration, and his sense of humanity.