Albert Joseph Buzbee

Albert Joseph “Buzz” Buzbee was born February 23, 1922, in Denver, Colorado, to Roscoe and Gretchen Allen Buzbee. He passed away April 23, 2018. He was preceded in death by his mother and raised by Max and Bertha Allen Hunter, his aunt and uncle. He was a professional dancer as a child, performing with many big band orchestras, including with Buddy Rodgers at the Trocadero Pavilion in the original Elitch Gardens in Denver. He graduated from Denver North High and enlisted in the Naval Air Force after Pearl Harbor, serving in the Pacific theater attached to the U.S.S. Yorktown. He was awarded the Air Medal and received the Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in action against enemy forces. He returned home after the war to attend college at Colorado State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley. There he met Luanne Margaret Ault who was born in Hammond, Indiana, on July 4, 1924. They married in 1946 and relocated to Colorado Springs in 1948 where he started his teaching career in District 11 as a coach and elementary teacher, retiring after 34 years of service to the district. Luanne preceded him in death by a brief two months after nearly 72 years of marriage. They are survived by their six children: Gaye (Frank) Jacobs, Anne (Paul) Canto, Lynne Mahan (Jim Hodgson), Scott Buzbee, Lori (Greg) Grimes, and Philip (Kathy) Buzbee; nine grandchildren; and 13 great grandchildren. No service is planned. Private memorial will be held at a later date.