Charles Edward "Bud" Durrer, Sr.
Charles Edward “Bud” Durrer, Sr. was born on October 2, 1926. He was the son of the late Malcolm N. Durrer and Elise Runkle Durrer. He passed away peacefully on October 15, 2023, in the presence of his family after playing a final round of cards and still winning the championship.
Bud was preceded in death by his wife, Laura Bickers Durrer, half-brother Malcolm “June” Durrer, and sisters Ethel Eppard, Nan Koontz, Betty Thomas, and Frances Roberts. He is survived by brothers Robert “Bobby” Durrer, his wife Joan, James “Bucky” Durrer, and sister Mildred “Patsy” Taylor and many nieces and nephews.
Bud is also survived by his two children, a son Charles Edward Durrer, Jr., wife Cathy, and a daughter Brenda Durrer Buttner, her husband Clifton; grandchildren, Angela Wolford and her husband Jeff, Travis Durrer, Kimberly Buttner and Jason, Hunter Durrer and his wife Kelsey. He is also survived by four great grandchildren, Adrian Wolford, Timothy Wolford, Amber Eubanks, and Riley Eubanks. There are numerous others whose lives were enhanced by knowing and loving Bud.
Bud was born in and lived in Central Virginia his entire life. This included time in Greene and Albemarle counties and in the city of Charlottesville. He did venture out of the country during his time serving in the army from August 1948 until May 1952. He enjoyed telling stories to his family about being a cook and sleeping in snow on the German border. He also worked locally for L.A. Lacy as a backhoe operator and a plumber. Some of his greatest work that made him proud were the projects he was involved in at the University of Virginia, including Scott Stadium, Gilmer Hall, the O-Hill dorms, the Alderman Road dorms, and the Slaughter Recreation Center. He was also instrumental in a variety of other utilities installation projects and working on the steam tunnels at UVA.
Outside of work, he loved many things that he shared with his family and friends. These included a great love of the outdoors, including hunting and fishing. You knew when he was around as his pack of hunting dogs were always the greatest and the fastest. He also enjoyed watching the birds, squirrels and deer battle for the bird seed in his front yard. Bud also had a love for sports and always rooted for his team when they were playing on TV. While the Cowboys didn’t always bring home the win for him, he could always count on a Ford to win the NASCAR race. In between the sports on TV, Bud would always find time to watch the Price is Right and laugh at the games the contestants would play. Another passion that he had was playing cards. It didn’t matter if it was poker, blackjack, or rummy, everyone knew that Bud was the champ.
The family would like to give a very special thanks to Dr. Daniel Sawyer and staff who spent many years keeping Bud healthy to live the long and amazing life that he did. His family was blessed to enjoy many years with “that old buzzard” as Dr. Sawyer referred to him as.
A very special thanks to his daughter, Brenda, and his granddaughter, Angie, who spent endless hours taking care of Bud as he aged. Their thoughtfulness and love were instrumental in keeping him active and engaged as he grew older.
A funeral service will include only a graveside service, which will be held at Monticello Memorial Gardens at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 20, 2023. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad to offer thanks for those who cared for him in the final day of his life.
Condolences may be shared with his family on the Tribute Wall.
