Douglas Buning

My final chapter is about the legacy that Don and Eunice have left us all.  This is the hardest part to write.  This is where the artist creates a perfect picture, the poet the best poem.  The photographer captures his best picture.  I don’t know how to do this part so I asked for help from others.

Random memories:

From a Comstock Park parent:  When Ellen was three years old she had a significant hearing/speech problem.  Don Buning arranged for her to spend time every week with the Stoney Creek Speech teacher the year before she started kindergarten. These lessons were very helpful to Ellen. Ellen felt very important about going to school and greeting “Mr. Bunny” and the school secretary when she entered.  Then, one day in the spring there was a kindergarten readiness day where the next year’s class was “tested” by teachers. Mrs. Waters advised that Ellen should be held back, that she was not ready and would not succeed in school. Her reasoning was that she did not see in Ellen the fear or intimidation of a day in school and of being tested.  Ellen did go on to kindergarten. Today Ellen is the Senior Engineer, Infiniband and Host Ethernet Hypervisor Development at IBM in Rochester, MN.

I remember all the vacations we went on.  How we left so early in the morning, stayed in campers, and sat around camp fires.  Little did I know that this was an experience most kids did not get growing up.  I figured at the time that all kids went to Disneyland, the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, Maine and Arcadia National Park, Yellowstone, Mexico and Colorado.  I took for granted the summers at Eastern Tennessee State University,  Western Washington, and Rhode Island.

I remember how special Christmas was.  How the carols would start on December 1, I remember all the games we played, the company visiting, the shows we watched and how we always got up so darn early on Christmas day.  I took good cooking and good food for granted.  I assumed all kids could go to the school gym the day after Christmas and have five hours of PE.  I remember the annual slide show and thinking how everyone was so much younger then.

I remember Sunday afternoon dinners growing up.  We always went to church in the morning and then always had a home-cooked sit down dinner after church with grandparents.  The conversations were usually silly but always priceless.

I remember a couple acts of kindness that meant a lot to me:  Mom and Dad swapped cars with us our first Thanksgiving, so that we could pull the little red trailer with a couch in it to our apartment in Champaign.  We swapped back at Christmas, with a ding in their front fender.  (Fortunately, Dave was driving.)  Mom and Dad gave us their bed at Christmas break, the year that I was pregnant with Julie.  Mom flew down to Raleigh, all by herself, (first time ever), to help me with Jamie and Julie when Dave had to be gone for a week. And, of course, Dad and his toolbox have saved us many a time.

Don retired on January 27, 1989 midway through the 1988-1989 school years.  He wanted to give the new principal an opportunity to start at the beginning of the second semester.  At first the “retirement plan” was to buy a motor home and travel.  They did that.  In the winter of 1990, they took a motor home they purchased and spent that winter in Florida.  In the winter of 1991, they spent the winter in Texas.  In the winter of 1992, they went back to Florida with their motor home and found a park in Florida called Holiday Travel Resort.  They really liked this place and met several friends.  Don and Eunice decided to sell the motor home and rented a place at Holiday Travel Resort for three years until they finally bought a place and have gone every winter since.  They currently own a place at 28229 CR33 Lot 55C Leesburg, Florida.  They have several friends at the park and remain active all winter.  The Groening’s from Maine are real special friends.

Don’s career started at Grandville High School teaching woodshop class from 1956 – 1960.  During this time both Dave and Doug were born.  Don and Eunice lived in Burlingame, Wyoming renting a house for a year and a half then bought a home on 3479 Bluebird.

From 1960 – 1962, Don taught at East Elementary in Grandville, Michigan teaching 6^th graders.  During this time Dan was born, living at 3479 Bluebird.

From 1962 – 1972, Don was a principal at Stoney Creek Elementary in Comstock Park, Michigan.  During this time, Becky was born.   Don was the principal of Stoney Creek for 10 years.  The school was brand new when it opened and he was the first principal the school ever had.  A picture of him was hung in the hallway when he left.  The school had over 600 students when it opened up.   During this time, Don and Eunice moved next door to a house they built at 3487 Bluebird.  The house was built in 1965 by the Meekhoff brothers.  Don did some of the work himself.  He put siding on the house, painted it, put in the hot water heater, plaster board, roof and treated it for termites.

From 1972 – 1989, Don was the principal of Pinewood Elementary in Jenison, Michigan.  He retired on January 27, 1989.  He was at Pinewood for 16 ½ years.  He left Stoney Creek Elementary because he was encouraged by the superintendent of Jenison schools to apply.  Both Dan and Becky had him as their principal.  In 1971, Eunice fell roller skating (remember how they met?) and hurt her knee.  She was not to climb stairs daily so Don and Eunice moved to 7932 22^nd in Jenison, Michigan in 1971.  For one year, Don commuted from Jenison to Comstock Park then became principal of Pinewood and lived less than one half mile from the school.  He retired January 27, 1989 from Pinewood Elementary.

After retirement, Don taught fall teacher’s education for five years at Grand Valley State University.  In 1998, Don and Eunice moved from the house at 7932 22^nd to a retirement home not far from 22^nd at 2667 Cedar Grove Court and are still living there today.

In all Don had 32 ½ years in education having bought two years for the time he was in the Navy.    The impacted lives are countless.

Don and Eunice had four children:

Dave born April 27, 1956 in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Doug born April 21, 1959 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dan born October 2, 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Rebecca born October 6, 1966 in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dave was born at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1956 (while Dad was attending Western Michigan University). He attended Calvin Christian High School, and then went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he earned his BS degree in Psychology. Dave met Sue Holsem in high school and they were married in Grandville, Michigan on January 21, 1978, after Sue graduated from the University of Michigan. Dave and Sue both earned Masters Degrees (in Industrial Psychology and Accounting) at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois; and Dave also taught Social Psychology there for 3 years. After college they went on an internship with IBM in Armonk, NY and that led to a job at IBM in Raleigh, North Carolina where they live today. Sue and Dave have three children: Jamie, born November 6, 1980; Julie, born July 2, 1986; and Steven, born June 9, 1990.

Doug was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on April 21, 1959.  He graduated from Jenison High School in 1977 and then went on to earn an associate degree from Grand Rapids Junior College in 1979, a bachelor degree in education from Grand Valley State University in 1982 and masters degrees from Emporia State University in 1992 in curriculum and instruction and in counseling in 1998.  Doug worked teaching middle school in El Dorado, Kansas for six years and then in Shawnee Mission, Kansas from 1988 until now becoming a counselor at Shawnee Mission South in 2001 and the counselor coordinator since 2002.  Doug met Kathy Macklin in high school and they were married in Goddard, Kansas on July 14, 1979.  They have three children: Lisa born March 14, 1982 and Kim born July 28, 1984 and Jennie born September 17, 1986.

Dan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 2, 1961.  He graduated from Jenison High School in 1980 and went on to earn a bachelor degree in economics from Calvin College in 1984.  After graduation, Dan worked at Steelcase from 1985 until 2005.  He is currently employed at Tennant in Zeeland, Michigan.  He earned another bachelor degree in finance from Davenport in 1998.   Dan met Beth Anderson in college and they were married in Jenison, Michigan on June 20, 1986.  They have three children: Hannah born June 26, 1990 and Kinsey born January 28, 1994 and Leah born August 9, 2001.

Rebecca (Becky) was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on October 6, 1966.  She graduated from Jenison High School in 1984.  She earned a bachelor degree from Hope College in 1988, with a double major in secondary education and Spanish.  She taught Spanish in Allendale from 1988 – 1990 and then was hired to teach in Zeeland in 1990 and is still teaching their now.  Becky met Dave Purnell in 1997 and they were married on July 11, 1998.  They have 2 children:  Anna born June 16, 1994 and Ellyn born April 16, 2000.

Don and Eunice got married on June 17, 1955.  They met during spring break in 1951 at a church roller skating party.   Kalamazoo Christian Reformed Church was having a roller skating party and Eunice went with her friend Mary Bosker.  Don was writing a paper during spring break while attending Grand Rapids Junior College and he needed a break from writing the paper.  He and his cousin Homer decided to attend the same skating party.

In May of 1952, Don joined the Navy.

Don and Eunice dated during the 2 ½ years while he was in the Navy.  Don got out of the Navy in October of 1954 and they got married in June of 1955.  Don finished his degree after the Navy at Western Michigan during which time they both stayed in a dorm at Western Michigan.

The marriage took place at Pinerest Christian Children’s Home in Cutlerville, Michigan.  Eunice taught Sunday school there so they could rent the chapel for free.  They wanted to get married on a different day but the chapel was being used by the preacher’s daughter so they picked June 17 instead.

The day of the wedding was a hot day and the church did not have air conditioning.  Uncle Abe sang during the wedding.  Al, Don’s brother was the best man.  Mary Bosker, a friend on Eunice’s was the maid of honor.  Aunt Helen was a bridesmaid as well as Beth Devries, Eunice’s brother’s wife.  After the wedding ceremony, there was a sit down supper in the church basement at First Church in Cutlerville catered by Jennie Devries (Eunice’s mom).   Once the dinner was over, the couple got in their car and headed to a local Motel.  They were followed by three college roommates that were going to harass Don and Eunice at the hotel.  Don’s Brother Al saved the day because he was the first car behind them and led them to a narrow gravel road that had a one lane bridge.  Al stopped and parked on the bridge and Don and Eunice were able to drive merrily on.

Don and Eunice honeymooned in Colorado for three weeks on $300.  They cooked most of their meals on a Coleman gas stove and ate on a collapsible table which they had taken along.  The limit for a hotel room was $7 a night and each room was checked out before it was paid for.  They had ten flat tires during the three week trip.

In the summer of 2005, the entire family went to Chicago, Illinois and spent a week at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois.  We were lucky that everyone was able to attend this event which was a celebration of 50 years of marriage between Don and Eunice.

Don was in the Navy from May of 1952 until October of 1954.  He was an Aviation Electronic Technician.  He had to take a test to get in to the school and he scored really high.  It was the hardest school to get into.  His Navy career started in Great Lakes, Illinois in boot camp.  Boot camp was tough.  He described hell week as one week were he learned many things but mostly about discipline.   He then went to an AV prep school in Norman Oklahoma and then on to Aviation Electronics School in Memphis Tenn.  After AE School he had a choice of billets and he could have been assigned to Olathe KS but everyone said the place was nowhere and boring so he chose Commander Forces Far East.  He was assigned to a base at Iwakuni Japan where he spent almost two years.  He said that the Navy was a valuable experience and if he had the opportunity he would do it all over again. One of the things he ended up doing was spending a month aboard a seaplane tender and sailed to Hong Kong where he purchased a wedding set.  To this day he gets choked up in Veterans Day parades and honors and remains loyal to the Navy

After the Navy, Don wanted to finish his degree at Western Michigan University.  He had also met a wonderful young lady named Eunice who he would later marry in 1955.  He ended up going to Western Michigan from 1954 until he got his BA degree in 1956 and an MA in 1960.  Unlike the Navy, Don does not feel as loyal to Western Michigan.   Don lived in the dorm for the first semester and after marriage he and Eunice lived together for one year in a cheap duplex and their focus was to get a degree and finish the program.  The two of them pretty much scraped by while they were there.  Don had a ladder on the dorm lot near where they parked their car so that when a job came up around town he could throw his ladder on his car and go do the work.  He mostly roofed, painted, pointed chimneys, cut branches and simonized cars for $5.  Don became a teacher because an Aunt who his parents really respected was a teacher and she always had a job during the depression years.   After graduation from Western Michigan, both Don and Eunice and little Dave moved to Wyoming and rented a home on Burlingame Ave for about nine months and then bought their first home at 3487 Bluebird as Don started his teaching career.

I was lucky to have known my grandparents.   We had many Sunday afternoon meals with both sets of grandparents.

Herm Buning was born February 2^nd, 1898 and died April 22, 1987 Herm was born in Michigan and both of his parents were from the Netherlands.  Herm was the fourth of eight children.  Herm’s first job was as a carpenter’s apprentice.  He was soon out of work for awhile because of the depression.  He later worked as a carpenter/ maintenance worker at Kelvinator Appliance where he retired.   If you have carpenter or painting skills you probably inherited it from him.

Teresa Buning (Alkema) was born December 5, 1901 and died February 16, 1986.  Teresa was born in Michigan and both of her parents were from the Netherlands.  Teresa was the sixth oldest of seven children.  Her mother died when she was 6 years old.  A neighbor, the Bazuin’s raised her after her mom died.  The Bazuin’s had twin boys named Clayton and Leonard.  Teresa was old for her age when she got married at 27.  She worked at Baxter Laundry until she got married then did not work anymore.

Gerritt DeVries was born July 25, 1906 and died June 30, 1982.  Gerritt was born in Holland, Michigan and both of his parents were from the Netherlands.  Gerritt was the only child from poor parents.  He got a bachelor degree from Calvin College and a master’s degree from Northwestern University.   His first job was at Chicago Christian High School where he taught Chemistry and Math.  He then went to Muskegon Christian for two years as a principal.  Then to Kalamazoo Christian where he was a principal for six years and lastly opened South Christian High School and was their first principal and stayed for six years.  Gerritt semi-retired at Dordt College in Iowa as dorm parents and later retired for good in Holland, Michigan.

Jennie DeVries (Hulst) was born May 8, 1905 and died August 9, 1988.  Jennie was born in Holland, Michigan and both of her parents were also born in Holland, Michigan.  She was the fourth child in a family of ten.  She was the second oldest girl.  She had seven sisters and two brothers.   Her parents were wealthy and owned a general store first in Bentheim, Michigan then later Holland, Michigan.   After high school she attended a business college then later worked as a secretary at Holland Furnace doing odds and ends.  My daughter Jennie is named after her.