Maxine Bussanmas

Maxine Bussanmas was the sixth child and only daughter of Bruce and Edna Crow. She was born and raised on a farm south of Prole, Iowa, and attended Martensdale High School, where she met her future husband.

Maxine married Otto Bussanmas, and the couple moved to Bevington, Iowa, where they attend Church of the Assumption Catholic Church in Churchville. Otto and Maxine had three sons, Jeff, Ken and Tom. All three attended Martensdale/St. Mary’s Community School and are now grown and married with families of their own. For 35 years, Otto has been the owner/operator of Bussanmas Towing and Services in Bevington. The business includes a gasoline station, a convenience store, a deli, towing, recovery services and a full-service garage. Otto and Maxine are co-owners of B&B Mini Storage, also located in Bevington.

In addition to managing a home and raising a family, Maxine was employed in a variety of positions with Look Magazine, Farmers Grain Dealers Association and Midwest Automatic Sprinkler Company. She worked as a district sales and marketing manager for Avon Products, where she supervised the activities of more than 400 independent sales representatives in over seven counties for 23 years. Maxine was later employed by Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines as the coordinator of volunteers. She now serves as the business manager at Bussanmas Towing and Services.

Maxine has always been involved with youth development. Her volunteering began at age 19, when she became the youngest girls’ 4-H leader in the state of Iowa. She served as a Cub Scout den mother and taught CCD classes in her local church for many years. Later she became an advisor in a co-ed Scout Explorer group. More recently, Maxine served as a volunteer board member for the Iowa Citizens Foster Care Review Board in Union County and was a contracted employee as an ICFCRB meeting facilitator in Clarke, Lucas, Decatur and Ringgold counties. Impacting the lives of children remains a priority.

Maxine’s other volunteer work includes serving on the Board of Trustees of Madison County Memorial Hospital in Winterset. She also was chairwoman of the Madison County Committee for the Iowa State Sesquicentennial Celebration. She volunteered as a worker and grief counselor for Mercy Hospice in Johnston.

Maxine has always shown an interest in the health and welfare of the elderly. A year after her father’s death, her mother suffered a stroke and moved into Maxine and Otto’s home, where she lived for the last nine years of her life. This made Maxine even more aware of the physical and emotional needs of the aging.

Maxine has served as a member of the Bevington City Council for more than 20 years.