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March 21, 1926 – March 16, 2020

NATCHEZ — A graveside service for Billie Louise Kostelka Bunch was held at the Natchez City Cemetery on March 19, 2020, with immediate family attending.

A memorial service will be held later at Westminster Presbyterian Church when it is safe for friends and family to gather.

Mrs. Bunch was born on March 21, 1926 in Shreveport, Louisiana to Lillian Cecile Luzenberg Kostelka and William Fabian Kostelka.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of thirty-three years, Sidney Denton Bunch, Jr. of Natchez, her mother and father-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Bunch of Natchez, her brother-in-law, Harry Maxwell Bunch Sr. of Houston, Texas, and one nephew, Clifton Kostelka.

Mrs. Bunch was a graduate of Tyler Business College, Tyler, Texas and worked as an assistant to Mr. W. H. Braden, Superintendent of the Natchez School System. She was the Administrative Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of Louisiana State University, Shreveport, Louisiana, for sixteen years and retired from LSU in 1986.

After retiring in Natchez, Mrs. Bunch rejoined Westminster Presbyterian Church where she and her husband had been charter members. She was an ordained elder and served as Clerk of the Session for many years. She was a long-time member of the Board of the Natchez Children’s Home, the Salvation Army, and the Natchez Civitan Club. Mrs. Bunch was an active and emeritus member of the Natchez Garden Club. In 1991, Mrs. Bunch was honored with an Unsung Hero Award by The Natchez Democrat.

She is survived by her son Dr. Robert Maxwell Bunch, and wife Anne, of Terre Haute, Indiana, her daughter, Denise Bunch Sebastian, and husband, Robert of Washington, D.C., her daughter Dr. Cecile Dianne Bunch of Natchez, one brother, The Honorable Robert William Kostelka, and wife Felicia, of Monroe, Louisiana, sister-in-law, Grace G. Bunch of Houston, Texas; four grandsons, Clifford Slattery Sebastian, William O’Keefe Sebastian, Samuel Denton Bunch, and Luke Lawson Bunch, two cousins, William Bryan Jones and Joseph Bravenec, three nieces, Kathryn Kostelka Lemoine, Carol Kostelka Gros, and Claire Kostelka; nephews, William Kostelka and Maxwell Bunch Jr.

The family would like to recognize Mrs. Pat Walker and family for their many years of kind friendship and care.

Memorials may be made to Natchez Children Services.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.