Martha Victoria (Hrutkay) Bussey, 87, late of Arlington, Virginia, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at home with family by her side.

She was born on March 9, 1934, in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, the youngest of nine children of the late Joseph Hrutkay and Victoria (Kuberka) Hrutkay.

Martha grew up on the family farm in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bentleyville High School in 1952. Inspired by trips with her brother Charles (Carl) to Pittsburgh Airport to watch the airplanes take off and land, she dreamt of a life in the sky. In pursuit of her dream, Martha moved from the area to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work as a stewardess for Eastern Air Lines in May 1955. She subsequently transferred with Eastern to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Her future husband, the late Thomas Alan Bussey of Atlanta, Georgia, was a regular passenger on one of her routes from Charlotte. Martha and Alan were married in December 1957, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Alan was based at the time for the Campbell Soup Company. Martha continued to work after her marriage for United Airlines in Salt Lake City. Over the next 10 years, Martha and Alan went on an adventure that took them from coast to coast as his company transferred them around the country.

They first moved from Salt Lake to Sherman Oaks, California, where Martha continued to work for United. Thereafter, they were transferred to Clearwater, Florida, where their first son, Donald Alan Bussey (59), of Arlington Heights, Illinois, was born. After Florida, they moved to Dallas, Texas, and Torrance, California. While residing in Claremont, California, their second son, Brian Arnett Bussey (56), was born. They eventually settled in Arlington Heights, Illinois, in 1967. Martha lived there for almost 52 years, always close to her older son Donald. After losing her husband in January 1988, Martha returned to work as a real estate agent for nearly ten years.

In February 2018, Martha moved to Arlington, Virginia, to live with her younger son Brian, his wife, Carol (Stevens) Bussey, and her grandson, Hamilton John Arnett Bussey (18), of Harrisonburg and Arlington, Virginia.

Martha was happiest surrounded by her family, and while gardening among the flowers and bird watching.

In addition to her two sons, daughter-in-law, and grandson, she is survived by a host of nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.

Martha is preceded in passing by her parents, her seven brothers, Nandor, Joseph (Joe), Michael (Mike), Lloyd, William (Bill), Edward (Ed), and Carl, and her sister Helena (Helen). Martha is also preceded by her grandson, David Alan Joseph Bussey.

She is the last of her generation of Hrutkays and their spouses. Martha's death marks the passing of a generational story that started with her parents Joseph and Victoria immigrating to the United States from central Europe in the early 1900s. Hope led them halfway across the world, and through hard work, her parents made a life for themselves, their children, and their posterity in their adopted land.

Family and friends will be received Friday, October 29 from 5 to 8 pm in the Greenlee Funeral Home, 619 Main Street, Bentleyville, PA 15314 where a Blessing Service will be held Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 10 am with Rev. Edward Yuhas officiating. Interment will follow in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery Monongahela, Pennsylvania. All are welcome.