On behalf of the family I want to thank you for coming to share in this special celebration of Buzz’s life. My name is Johnny DeVore and I am one of Buzz’s sons-in-law.  My father-in-law, Baxter Don Dailey, or Buzz as most of you know him, was born on April 11, 1945 in Seattle, Washington.  He grew up with his sister Sandy in the Parkland area.  Buzz was the epitome of cleanliness and so he would often change his clothes if he got them dirty.  One time his sister became so frustrated with his focus on cleanliness that she dumped a whole box of soap over his head. His family owned and operated a butcher shop and meat lockers that he worked in, every day after school.  

 

At the age of 16 he started as a box boy with the Lucky Store Corporation and worked through various departments.  This was where Baxter got his nickname “Buzz” when his store manager decided it was too difficult to say “Baxter” over the intercom and since he was never still and always in a hurry, he was given the nickname Buzz.  As far as his career goes, he continued with Lucky Stores having worked his way up to management and then became one of the youngest store managers in the company, by the age of 30.  After many years in the grocery business his career moved to Associated Grocers, working specifically in various leadership roles for Western Family’s private label division.  He finished his 50-year career as a Marketing Director for Unified Grocers when he retired in 2012.  Of course, he refused to sit still after his retirement, serving as his residential community’s HOA president, working out at the YMCA, and as the best fry cook for his daughter Sheri at Hamburger Myers, during the Puyallup spring and fall fairs.

 

He grew up attending Bethesda Baptist Church in Tacoma with his family and was involved in the youth group.  This is where he met his future wife, Linda, when he was 18 and she was 15.  Linda fondly remembers the first time he gave her a single red rose, which was on her 16th birthday.  He continued that tradition for nearly 60 years, through her 75^th birthday.  He even made special arrangements this past January with his daughter, Michelle, to pick the rose up when he was bedridden as he was recovering from his last chemo treatment in January.  They continued to date during Linda’s high school years and were married on June 18, 1966, nine days after Linda’s high school graduation. Buzz joined the US Army Reserves and left for boot camp a mere two weeks after their honeymoon.  He served in the Reserves for six years while he continued to work in the grocery business.  During that time the family grew as the oldest daughter Sheri was born in 1968, and then the second daughter Deanne was born in 1969, then finally the third daughter Michelle was born in 1976.  As a family, they worked hard together and played even harder.  There are many happy memories of family camping trips, boating, and waterskiing in Eastern Washington with family.  The girls remember water fights, marshmallow fights, grape fights and even a few vacations where Buzz would add a new animal to the household, like the dog named Frisbee who didn’t play fetch.  Buzz loved his three daughters, but finally added some sons as the girls each were married.  They waited a long time for grandchildren and the first one was a granddaughter, followed over the years by six grandsons.  Each grandchild was equally important to him and he and Grandma were often going to sporting events, school events and church events that each one was involved in.  Their calendar was very full!  He was not a Grandpa that watched life go by, he wanted to be in on the action and would get down on the floor to play with his grandchildren.  He and Grandma spent hours praying individually and specifically for each member of the family and were always willing to pray with their grandchildren when asked.

 

Over the past twenty-five years Buzz and Linda continued to make many great memories traveling across North America, the Hawaiian Islands, and even one trip to Israel.  Each trip was filled with adventures, much laughter, and special memories with family and dear friends. Buzz and Linda were very active serving the Lord in every church they called home.  Over the years, Buzz served as Sunday School teacher, youth leader, deacon, elder, small group leaders, prayer ministry, children sports camp leader, and even spent time as a church planter.  If there was a need, he and Mom were willing to serve in any capacity.  Buzz and Linda were very involved in evangelism and discipleship as they were leading small groups and ministering to people in their neighborhood.  They were willing to serve the Lord every day and as Buzz would say “This is where the rubber meets the road!”  Buzz still felt like he had more to do in serving the Lord, but as Paul says in Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

 

Because of Buzz’s faith in Christ and the testimony of his life, the family is confident that Buzz is in Heaven with his Lord and Savior, healed from his sickness and in pain no more.