Obituary
On August 28, 2022, beloved husband and father Buz (Buster) Couturier—born Adolphe Pierre—left this wonderful earth he loved. Buz lived along the East Coast—from Maine, Massachusetts and Manhattan, to Maryland and Southwest Florida. As recently as three weeks ago, he strolled to his favorite ponds to watch Florida’s wild birds. A profoundly empathic human, he protected broods of nestlings, took in strays, and adored his cats and dogs, as well as his pine and coconut trees.
Mostly, Buz grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Boston. When he was a varsity football player in high school, he met Patricia (née Candlish) on a blind date in Roxbury. Separated for a spell while Buz was in the Air Force and worked as a radar-station lookout in Korea in 1955, Buz and Pat married in 1957. They have three children: Steven, Lisa and Lynn.
Raising his family, Buz worked as electrical engineer re-outfitting warships, a career incongruent with his gentle nature. Later, he honed his skills as a printer and opened The Printing Team, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He also enjoyed woodworking and made beautiful furniture. All along, Buz was an extraordinary tennis player with the Aspen Hill and Layhill tennis clubs in Maryland. A certified pro, he taught tennis at Killington Tennis Club in Vermont before opening his own tennis school, Strokes & Strategies in Laytonsville, Maryland. Upon his arrival on the Fort Myers, Florida, tennis scene, he played in several leagues that sustained not only his physical fitness but his mind and soul as well.
Buz enjoyed any PBS show about Nature. In Autumn, he rooted for the (former) Redskins. When tennis was on, he studied the moves of his favorite players. In service to his intellect and to his curiosity about the world, he read The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He devoted Sundays at 7pm to “60 Minutes.” He loved to laugh and knew humor was the best medicine.
Buz Couturier—a soulful man with an often mischievous grin and a twinkle in his eye, leaves behind a family utterly bereft: wife, Patricia Couturier; son Steven Couturier; daughter Lisa Couturier and son-in-law Kirk Mettam; daughter Lynn Couturier-Verheugen and son-in-law Alain Verheugen. Grandchildren Eric Couturier, Christopher Couturier, Madeleine Mettam, and Lucienne Mettam. It seems fitting to say now that though Buz and Pat Couturier were married for 65 years and nurtured a large family, over the decades no one outside the family could ever guess their true ages. They enjoyed this secret about themselves, and saw it for what it was—proof of how young-at-heart they were, and how in love, always together.
A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at a future date. Those who would like to remember Buz are asked to consider a donation to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in his honor.
The obituary was beautiful! A beautiful tribute! May he Rest In Peace!
Vicki Leahy-Jones