Jerry A. Buysse

Jerry A. Buysse (90) of Sewickley, Pennsylvania passed away on February 13, 2023, after a long and bravely fought battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was surrounded by his wife Rosemary and his four children, Jerry, Daniel, Christine, and Renee.
Jerry was born on September 7, 1932, to Octavie and Henri Buysse in Detroit, Michigan. The son of Flemish immigrants to this country, Jerry grew up in Detroit and attended St. Joseph's High School on the east side of Detroit. His parents ran a corner market and barbershop and Jerry helped in the family enterprise while bridging the gap for his parents between the Old and New Worlds, becoming fluent in Flemish and all things Belgian! Through this early experience, Jerry learned to play trombone and spent several years in his teens and early 20s playing and touring with a well-known and travelled Detroit-based big band, Joe Doto and The Detroiters; their recordings and gigs throughout southeastern Michigan and Canada were extensive. In 1950 Jerry was drafted into the US Army and despite wanting to play in the Army Band, the country saw fit to send him as a field engineering specialist, where he spent two years in Korea serving in the 298th Engineering Company, 3rd Armored Division. Once home in Michigan he married Rosemary Moyer on April 23, 1955, a union of over 67 years, full of love and devotion to his high school sweetheart and the four children they raised together.
Jerry worked in a variety of roles, starting as a lithographer for the Motchall Printing Company in Detroit and eventually, through often unpredictable and surprising turns, concluded his work life as Director of the Executive Garage at the Chrysler Corporation in Highland Park, Michigan in 1997. In all these roles, his signature hard work and attention to detail were evident, an example that his children emulated as they went on to college and professional schools that Jerry worked hard to provide for them.
Jerry was a man of wide-ranging interests, self-taught and prolific in his gardening skills, automotive knowledge, and conservation and recycling efforts. His greatest and most enduring interest however, was in caring for his family and friends. He provided both the material and emotional support his children needed, he took in his mother for the last years of her life, and routinely made the family rounds of aunts and uncles. He had friendships that lasted a lifetime.
Jerry is survived by his wife of 67 years, Rosemary Buysse (Sewickley, PA) and children Jerry Buysse (Los Altos, CA), Daniel Buysse (Wexford, PA), Christine Hoban (Bangor, PA) and Renee Weidman (Bangor, PA). Jerry's extended family includes 7 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, along with nieces and nephews residing in Michigan and Texas.
Jerry was a student of the Civil War, and surprising in his mementos of that interest is this selection from Bruce Catton, the Civil War historian, in his book "Waiting for the Morning Train" that Jerry noted and copied:
"Old age, as I said before, is like youth in this one respect: it finds one waiting at the railroad junction for a train that is never going to come back; you have seen all the sights, and it is a little too dark to see any more, even if you did miss some. But the conductor has your reservation, and he tells you that your berth is all ready for you. And then, he adds the final assurance as you go down the aisle to the curtained bed, 'I'll call you in plenty of time in the morning.'...in the morning."
No visitation. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish, Saints John & Paul Catholic Church, 2586 Wexford Bayne Rd, Sewickley, PA 15143. Arrangements entrusted to Schellhaas & Sons Funeral Home, Sewickley.
Please leave all condolences at www.schellhaasfh.com.