James Buzzelli, 66, charted Air Force One
KIAWAH Island - Mark Buzzelli remembers crawling inside Air Force One and
grabbing a handful of President Reagan's jelly beans. That was back when his
uncle Col. James Anthony Buzzelli worked as the navigator for the commander
in chief aboard the plane.
He recalled the story to turn the mood during Col. Buzzelli's funeral
service Thursday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, where about 300 people
gathered to say farewell to the man some called the Good Will Ambassador of
Kiawah.
Buzzelli, 66, who died Saturday of natural causes , charted trips for
Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan aboard Air Force One. He also served as
deputy director of the White House Military Office.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1992 in a special ceremony with the
first President Bush in the Oval Office, Buzzelli moved to Kiawah Island,
where he worked at Turtle Point and Cougar Point golf courses a few days a
week.
'He's always been the biggest inspiration all of my life, who I want to be,
how I want to see the world, how I treat other people and how I live my
life,' his daughter Jennifer Buzzelli said.
His wife of 42 years, Yvonne Buzzelli, said when her husband retired he left
all military titles behind and took up gardening and cooking, with a
speciality in his mother's Italian dishes.
'He'd be saying, ?What's all the fuss about?' ' she said of the funeral
service. 'Jim bent over backwards for everyone but never asked anyone to do
anything for him.'
Born in a small Pennsylvania town near Pittsburgh, Buzzelli met his wife on
a blind date while he was stationed in Charleston.
They spent most their lives in Maryland at Andrews Air Force Base but kept a
summer home on Kiawah where they lived since he retired.
Although Buzzelli was eligible to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery,
he chose to have his ashes spread between his hometown and Kiawah.
'He was the most unassuming man,' his daughter Lisa Buzzelli said. 'He was a
genuine man. He didn't meet a stranger, construction worker or head of state
who he couldn't relate to.'
Lisa Buzzelli said her father told stories about landing in the former
Soviet Union with Henry Kissinger, secretary of state in the 1970s. He flew
on Air Force One with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan to funeral
services for Egyptian Prime Minister and peacekeeper Anwar Sadat.
'?Buzz' was a great guy,' said Jim Kelechi of James Island, who worked with
Buzzelli at the Kiawah golf courses. 'You would have never known the things
he did. He never really talked about it much.'
Ric Ferguson, head professional at Cougar Point, worked with Buzzelli for
about 15 years. As golf shop attendant, Buzzelli watched cooking shows and
the History Channel during slow moments at work, Ferguson said.
'He was a fascinating man,' Ferguson said. 'I loved hearing his stories of
the things he did and the people he worked for. I would listen in awe.'
Ferguson said he remembered hearing about when James A. Baker III, chief of
staff to President Reagan, came to Kiawah to golf. Baker walked into the
golf shop and said, 'Hey, Buzz, what are you doing here?' Ferguson recalled.
Ten airmen from the Charleston Air Force Base honor guard attended the
funeral. The airmen presented Buzzelli's widow with an American flag and
gave a 21-gun salute followed by taps on bugle.
Mark Buzzelli ended the service with a part of a poem by an unknown author
that Buzzelli's daughter found on his desk after his death: 'Grieve not nor
speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk as if I were among you. I loved
you so.'
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