Eugene Paterni, Jr

Eugene "Buster" Paterni, Jr., age 59, a resident of Huntington Woods for 27 years, formerly of Detroit, died June 23, 2010 at his home. He was born February 8, 1951, in Detroit, MI. Before Buster graduated from St. Marys of Redford in 1969, he started and ran a coffee house with his best friend Scott Satterlund. For two years, "Tabatha Coffee House" was open everyday after school for coffee and every weekend night to feature different local bands. He was 17 years old. After graduation he attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI. In February, 1971, he began dating Karen Bueter. His next entrepreneurial venture was "Buster's Welding 'N' Fix-It Shoppe" on Schoolcraft & St. Marys. For four years he fixed and tinkered and mastered his craft. During that time he proposed to Karen and they married on April 4, 1975. Their first home was on Evergreen in Detroit. A desire for a family combined with a generous offer from Satterlund Supply Co. took him into the world of pipes, valves and fittings where he rose through the ranks of the company. When he eventually retired in 2009, after 37 years in sales and purchasing, he had worked almost every single position in the company, and had decided to finish his career in the warehouse where he first started. His first daughter, Heidi Elizabeth, was born in 1975 followed shortly thereafter with a second daughter, Tabatha Ann, in 1979. During this time he sold his welding shop and bought a Classic Ford Model A which he restored completely to a pristine condition. A prized accomplishment of his. Samantha Jean was born in 1981 and when Karen was pregnant with number four in 1983 they moved to Huntington Woods to accommodate the expanding brood. June of 1984 brought Ivy Marie and two years later Travis Joseph, the only boy, brought up the Paterni caboose. The next ten years resulted in a number of home-improvement projects large and small, countless birthday parties, a few trips to the emergency room, and many, many trips "up north" to the lake-side house his father built on Lake Huron. Buster loved being up north and one of his last big projects was building a 30 ft. steel dock, which he built in his garage in MI then transported, assembled, and installed in Au Gres, MI. An enormous endeavor that allowed him to "sit on the dock of the bay." To see him there, under his umbrella, he was the picture of serenity. Other major renovations include: a massive, two-story garage complete with air-conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter, cable television and a phone line. This is where Buster spent most of his spare time, was happiest, and created his best work. In 1988 he turned a crawl space of an attic into a front bedroom with 20 ft. vaulted ceilings, built-in shelves, and a sleeping loft complete with detachable ladder to make room for the first teenager. In 1990 he took on the back of the house renovating two rooms at once: the main floor lost a screened-in back porch and gained a beautiful sun room that led out onto a wooden deck also built by his own hands. With the sun room in place, he built on top of that a second bedroom with oak hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves, and a covered balcony with a beautiful view for the second teenager. In 1992, Karen received a long-awaited gut renovation of the kitchen. The new and improved kitchen featured marble-tiled counters, knotty pine cabinets, hardwood floors, a restaurant quality stove and a skylight. As children began to grow up his interests shifted from renovations to restorations again. He began going to antique shows, buying old, dilapidated toy pedal cars, restoring them then showcasing them at pedal car shows. Pedal cars led to motorcycles which culminated in the restoration of a 1947 Harley Hummer to its original state as well as two Vespas and a 1976 Jeep. In 1999, his eldest daughter Heidi graduated from Western Michigan University. Two years later she married Andrew Hayes in Traverse City, MI. That same year, in 2001, Tabatha graduated from Michigan State University with honors. And in 2002 Buster became a grandfather for the first time to Kerik. Karen and Buster took the trip of a lifetime and went to see their first grandson in Japan where Heidi and Andy were stationed at the time. He came back wearing a Japanese farming hat and smoking cigarettes. Heidi and Andy now have three children: Kerik, 8, Maggie, 6, and Emmet 7 months. Buster took to being a grandfather like a duck to water. He had always idolized his own grandpa so it appears he learned from the best because children loved him. Grandpa was fun. As more children started to leave the house Buster continued to weld any and all manner of furniture tables, benches, vanities, bed frames, chairs as well as artistic expressions such as dragonfly garden forks, door-knob wall hooks, and the list goes on and on. In 2005, Samantha married Bryan Bosio in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, yet another supreme highlight of his life. Sam and Bryan are now expecting their first child in September and even in his sickness, he was excited about the new arrival. In 2005, Tabatha moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing and when Ivy graduated from Western Michigan University with honors in 2006 she joined her to work in advertising. Ivy now works in real estate, Tabatha is a freelance editor and interior decorator and they share a brownstone in Brooklyn, peacefully coexisting. In 2008, Travis graduated with honors from Western Michigan University as well and followed in his sister's footsteps by moving to New York. He is now climbing the corporate ladder working in management at Enterprise Holdings. With the children out of the house brought quiet, reflection, and freedom! He began harvesting the grape vines in the backyard and making wine with his good friend Tom Osmond. They made wine for four seasons and concluded that their batches either tasted good, or got you drunk, but not both. They were still working on finding that middle ground. Inspired by his avid reading of all of Mark Twain's works, Buster penned his own autobiography in 2004 and gifted each of his children with a copy that Christmas. It was a unanimous consensus: everyone said it was the best gift they'd ever received from him. His last projects were cultivating an elaborate vegetable and flower garden with Karen, a hobby they both shared and enjoyed together. He also began making his "dog carts" for sled dogs or any dog strong enough to pull their owners on dry land. See his website at www.dogbusters.com. He was an E-bay enthusiast, trash-picker extraordinaire, lover of Seinfeld, The Marx Brothers, and the Beatles. An avid facebooker, trick-or-treater and perpetual optimist, he bought a pair of Rollarblades at the citywide garage sale only a month before his death because, he said, "Five bucks! They fit!" He was an artist, an engineer, and I happen to regard him as a creative genius. The man could make anything. The man could FIX anything, except, in his words, "a broken heart." He loved his kids. He loved his wife, Karen. He loved their house and their life and the kitties and every new day. He loved his friends, his work, he loved his life. I think he lived opposite of the old adage "Live each day as though it's your last," he lived as though every day was his first, and all the unlimited possibility that goes with that. He saw potential everywhere and he inspired people. And if he didn't inspire them he probably at least made them laugh. Most importantly though, Buster was loved. His life was filled with people who adore him. He was a truly unique person, to say the least. We will all miss him very much in that special way in which he touched us. He is survived by his wife, Karen J. Bueter Paterni; children, Heidi E. Andrew Hayes of Jacksonville, NC, Tabatha A. Paterni of Brooklyn, NY, Samantha J. Bryan Bosio of Ocean Springs, MS, Ivy M. Paterni of Brooklyn, NY and Travis J. Paterni of Brooklyn, NY; grandchildren, Kerik, Maggie and Emmet Hayes; mother, Betty Paterni of Plymouth; and sister, Beverly Schmidt of Plymouth. He was preceded in death by his father, Eugene R. Paterni; and in-laws, Verne J. and Jeannette Hyde Bueter. The visitation will be held Friday 1-8 p.m. with a 7 p.m. scripture service at Wm. Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, 705 W Eleven Mile Road 4 blks. E of Woodward, Royal Oak. Mr. Paterni will lie in state Saturday 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass 10 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Royal Oak, with the Rev. Steve Wertanen officiating. Memorials to Capuchin Soup Kitchen, 1820 Mt. Elliott Street, Detroit, MI 48207 or St. Mary Catholic Church, 730 S. Lafayette, Royal Oak, MI 48067. Share your memories at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com