Richard Buehler

Richard “Dick” Buehler was a humble man with an infectious laugh whose greatest treasure was found in the love he shared with those around him. He was a dedicated educator and mentor who impacted thousands of young lives during his years of teaching. Dick loved his family deeply; he felt blessed by his children and each of his grandchildren. A stranger to none and a friend to all, he will be deeply missed and remembered always.

Dick and his twin sister Janice were born on October 9, 1938, to Kenneth T. Buehler and Louise (Lybarker); they and their older brother, Kenneth, grew up in Delton. Dick spent his childhood years running barefoot around Wall Lake in his straw hat and catching frogs, turtles, and fish, climbing trees, and shooting anything that didn’t swim.

Dick was excellent athlete and excelled in just about every high school sport. He was the quarterback of the football team, pitcher on the baseball team, and point guard on the basketball court; he and his sister Jan were Homecoming King and Queen. After graduating from Delton Kellogg High School in 1956, Dick went on to attend Western Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1960, and later his Master’s and Specialist degrees. Additionally, Dick served on the Executive Board of Student Council and was a member of the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity while at WMU.

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree, Dick embarked on his longtime teaching career as an English/Speech Teacher at Parchment High School. Not only did he remain in the same school district his entire career, but he also taught in the same classroom for 34 years. During his tenure, Dick coached track and field and cross country, as well as various other sports and activities (Quiz Bowl). He influenced even more young lives as driver’s education teacher to generations of new drivers. Much of what he did for young people was beyond lessons in English or speech: they were life lessons. In his early years of teaching, the pay was so low he had to work three jobs to make ends meet – as a result he was motivated to help negotiate several contracts with hopes of ensuring a brighter future for the young teachers coming after him.

It was while at WMU that Dick met the love of his life, Linda Bedecs; they both had to attend a speech for one of their classes and with this chance meeting, their love story began. They were happily married in the St. Thomas More Catholic Church on campus in 1959, and became the proud parents of three beautiful children: Debra, Martin and Dana. Time together as a family was very important to Dick and Linda and they made family vacations a priority. Dick and Linda took the family on historical and educational trips and on fun trips to Florida too. Later, when they were empty nesters, they began exploring Mexico and the Caribbean. Their favorite island was Aruba where they had many memorable trips; especially the time they brought their oldest granddaughters with them.

Dick was an avid outdoorsman, and loved more than anything to hunt and fish, especially for bluegills. He shared his love of hunting and fishing with his children, grandchildren and his nephew Nick, who was like a son to him. He was always off on some kind of fishing expedition with friends or family, like the trips to Drummond Island in the Upper Peninsula with his son, Marty, and father-in-law, Mart. On one trip to Drummond, the three were catching so many smallmouth they did not notice a sudden windstorm. The waves built to dangerous heights that forced the three fishermen to sleep on a small rocky island through the night. It got down to 45 degrees, which was not fun in shorts and t-shirts. Dick also enjoyed the fly-in walleye fishing trips he took with his great-nephew, Jim Buehler, in Esnagi, Ontario, where he did not fail to make fishing into a competition between the guys every time out – just like at home. Outside school, Dick and his good friend and colleague, Dan Tindall, and his sons, Eric and Brian, took many hunting and fishing trips together, including camping trips to the White River. After retiring, Dick and Dan went on their biggest adventures yet. They traveled from lake to lake in canoes, fishing the Canadian Shield Lakes. They went with Marty to the Lake of the Woods and almost blew up International Falls, Minnesota, with a boat full of gas. They fished the U.P. three times and went all the way to Isle Royale to portage/fish/portage/fish/portage/fish the inland lakes of the island. One Isle Royale trip was more tense than usual, especially for poor Dan, because Dick quit smoking on the island. Their final trip together, Dick and Dan teamed up with Marty and headed out for a grand adventure to Montana, where they visited Glacier National Park, fly fished in Montana rivers, and went to Yellowstone National Park. Amazingly, they stood and took a picture together in front of “Postcard Point” on the “Going to the Sun Road,” which was significant because Dan had a picture of that same spot hanging in his classroom and he and Dick looked at it often. Now they were there in person – together!

The last line of the movie, A River Runs Through It, struck a cord with him: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.” Dick was haunted by waters, but in a positive sense. He had a sense of self-transcendent interconnectedness when on the water; as he said many times, “The lake is my church.”

Aside from hunting and fishing, he liked to golf with his buddies, eat with friends at the diner, play the odds at the casino, relax with his family at their cottage on Wall Lake. He loved to ice fish with his good friend Cliff and go to sporting events with his friend Henry. He was a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers and various college sports, and liked to razz his son-in-law Don about The Ohio State University Buckeyes. Dick was a very proud grandfather and enjoyed keeping up with high school sports, especially where his grandkids were concerned. Moreover, he loved his position as “self-appointed referee corrective counselor” at his grandson’s games at Hastings. He was an avid reader and a poet at heart. A favorite composition was “An Ode To My Sweetheart.” In addition, Dick and Linda owned a dozen rental houses in Kalamazoo for many years, and were landlords to hundreds of WMU students. Dick spent many hours as a “jack of all trades” maintaining their properties with the help of Ted Boehm and extra help from his special niece Lauren, who was like a daughter to him.

There are not enough colors in the rainbow to match all of the colorful stories that could be shared about Dick Buehler. Dick was as honest as they come, and didn’t mince words, just said it as it was. The memories Dick leaves behind will remain lasting treasures in the hearts and lives of those too numerous to count.