The Cedar Rapids Community School District’s first female superintendent, Noreen Bush, died on Sunday, October 23, 2022. 

After fighting illness for over two and a half years, Noreen Bush passed away.

Noreen Bush, a former superintendent of Cedar Rapids Community School, burial plans have been released.

On September 19, she requested a medical leave of absence from her position as district superintendent, and on September 22, she resigned from that position. 

On September 26, the board accepted her departure during a meeting during which numerous members paid respect to her.

‘We will miss her kind heart, lovely energy, and strong dedication to the Cedar Rapids Community School District,’ district officials said in a statement, according to KCRG. 

They further added, ‘Noreen oversaw the Cedar Rapids Community School District with empathy for each student and courage when it came to making crucial choices. She was well-known for her leadership and dedication as well as her kind smile and contagious laughter, which she shared with everyone who had the good fortune to know her.’

Noreen Bush Cedar Rapids Obituary

After fighting illness for over two and a half years, Noreen Bush passed away on Monday, October 23, 2022.

Bush’s family published an obituary stating that she was a Catholic parishioner of St. Ludmila. On November 4, there will be a visit from 2:30 p.m to 7 p.m, with a prayer service starting at 4 p.m.

On November 5, a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Ludmila Catholic Church as well at 10:30 a.m. This will be followed by a private entombment in Linwood Cemetery Mausoleum.

Part of the obituary states, ‘Her kind heart, joyous spirit, and unwavering commitment to the Cedar Rapids Community School District will be sorely missed. Hope was Noreen’s guiding principle in everything she did, and she wished for everyone to share it.’

Who Was Noreen Bush?

Noreen was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which would afflict her for the remainder of her term.

Bush had previously planned to depart her office on June 30, 2023, but due to her deteriorating health, that date was changed to November 1. 

A national search was subsequently launched to choose her replacement. The district then made the statement that an interim superintendent will be named.

Bush received the School Administrators of Iowa’s Superintendent of the Year award in 2021, among other notable distinctions and accomplishments. 

In 2019, she was appointed acting superintendent. She was formally promoted to the job in February of the following year, just before the global coronavirus pandemic began, and assumed the responsibility that July. 

The 2020 derecho presented yet another early obstacle for the district she was in charge of amid the pandemic.

She was admired for her leadership and dedication as well as her kind smile and contagious laughter, which she shared with everyone lucky enough to know her.

Noreen led the Cedar Rapids Community School District with empathy for every learner and courage when making crucial decisions, according to board president David Tominsky of Cedar Rapids. 

After the district revealed on Thursday that the school board intended to choose an interim superintendent at its meeting on Monday, October 24, her original contract, which called for her to remain as superintendent until June 30, 2023, was truncated until November 1.