{"id":8621,"date":"2014-10-22T15:40:42","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T15:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=8621"},"modified":"2024-04-12T11:32:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:32:39","slug":"salvatore-buchettos-obituary-celebrates-his-well-lived-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/salvatore-buchettos-obituary-celebrates-his-well-lived-life.html","title":{"rendered":"Salvatore Buchetto\u2019s Obituary Celebrates His Well-Lived Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obituaries often celebrate lives well lived\u2014but rarely with the enthusiasm this recent obituary does.<\/p>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut), 17 October 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His obituary states: \u201cSal measured out at 73 1\/2 inches, and a bouncing 232 pounds, 9 ounces.\u201d<\/p>\n

After reading a few lines from Salvatore\u2019s obituary, you quickly realize that he was someone very special to many people.<\/p>\n

His newspaper obituary reports:<\/p>\n

For 39 years, an eccentric, electric force of nature in the Stamford Public Schools, beloved by classes and respected by peers, teaching science at Burdick and Cloonan Middle Schools. His performance in front of the blackboard was the stuff of legend, often extending out of the classroom to capture the imagination of students and fellow teachers. A Mad Scientist and Arm Wrestling Champion on the school stage, he was famous for memorable experiments that combined sports cars and mannequins; leaf-blowers and popsicle stick houses; a bed of nails and school principals; and rooftops and egg drops.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sal Buchetto was a father, a grandfather, a very popular teacher\u2014and a childhood friend of mine. His family lived just behind our house. We called him \u201cChuck.\u201d There was a gang of 3-5 of us. We\u2019d cut through his yard, go across the street, cut through another yard, then through the woods, get through a hole in the fence, then through another yard and down through that street\u2014and on to school.<\/p>\n

We were everywhere\u2014building forts, afterschool sports and tracking the moons of Jupiter on our telescopes. I still have that telescope; I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve used it for over 50 years.<\/p>\n

One day his Mom had us over for dinner.
\nShe served pasta, on huge plates.
\nShe filled the plate.<\/p>\n

I thought: this is great\u2014a huge amount of food.
\nShe asked if we wanted more, so I said: yes.
\nShe filled the plate again.
\nWow. Two helpings, each about the size of the serving bowl we\u2019d get at home.
\nGreat\u2014what a meal.<\/p>\n

But wait\u2014there\u2019s more.
\nShe then brought out the main course.
\nMore? I was already stuffed.
\nWasn\u2019t the pasta the main course?<\/p>\n

Well, no.
\nOut came the chicken, then there was another main course\u2014a third course? Sausage, more meat, salad\u2026an endless stream of food.
\nThen dessert.<\/p>\n

Wow.<\/p>\n

The Buchettos had a living room that no one was allowed to enter\u2014except THAT day.
\nAll of the furniture was white.
\nThe couches were covered in plastic.
\nIt was like a museum, but that day his Mom let us go in\u2014and there it was: their brand new color TV!<\/p>\n

Wow\u2014television in color. How good was that!
\nWe watched Bonanza<\/a>\u2014yeah, a little grainy\u2014but it was in color.
\nWhat would they think of next?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a transcription of Salvatore Buchetto\u2019s obituary:<\/p>\n

Buchetto, Salvatore R.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSalvatore Robert Buchetto lived, larger than life, from October 12, 1948 through October 15, 2014. For 39 years, he was an eccentric, electric force of nature in the Stamford Public Schools, beloved by classes and respected by peers, teaching science at Burdick and Cloonan Middle Schools. His performance in front of the blackboard was the stuff of legend, often extending out of the classroom to capture the imagination of students and fellow teachers. A Mad Scientist and Arm Wrestling Champion on the school stage, he was famous for memorable experiments that combined sports cars and mannequins; leaf-blowers and popsicle stick houses; a bed of nails and school principals; and rooftops and egg drops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe son of Peter and Ann Buchetto, Sal was born in and grew up in Stamford. He graduated from Southern Connecticut University with a BS in Science, and followed that up by earning two Masters in education, one each from Southern Connecticut University and the University of Bridgeport. After retiring from Stamford schools, Sal would return to both his universities, schooling the next generation of teachers in his Graduate Education Classes. His marathon, free-form sessions left his audience on the edge of their seat — hesitant to take a bathroom break for fear of missing a single educational, entertaining word of his considerable experience and unique techniques.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is survived by family who were ever amazed and energized by his vitality: his wife Toni, daughter Kamera Dukes and granddaughter Michaela Dukes; and good family friend Abraham Davis; Sal\u2019s sister Vita Chichester and her sons and their families: Dan, Jenn and Lucas; Keith, Tracy, Sammi and Lia; Peter, Jessica, Max, Nicole and Zack; nephew Mark Servidio and his family; sister in law Rita Orgera and her children: Ryan, Alexis and Kendall; sister-and-brother-in-law Aly and Dan McNamara, and their children and families: Tyler, Casey, Brian and Zoe; and Sara, Kyle and Cole; brother-in-law Bill Ruedaman; and sister-in-law Kim Orgera, her daughter Tessa and her children: Chance, Yancy and Dylan. Sal now joins his son Kris in heaven. Sal was also predeceased by his brother in law Daniel Chichester, Sr.; his sister Rachel and brother-in-law Babe Servidio; his brother Peter Buchetto; and brother in law Bo Orgera.<\/p>\n

\u201cDevoted to a malfunctioning series of TR-6 autos, Sal single-handedly supported the used parts industry for that model over the years. An accomplished photographer, his \u201cPhotography by Salvatore\u201d business captured the romance of hundreds of newly wedded couples. He supported Native American causes through his visits to state casinos, and was widely-read through his frequent contributions to the Stamford Advocate editorial page on a wide variety of serious and satirical topics. In tribute to Sal, it\u2019s rumored that big screen TVs across the state will be dimmed to half-brightness, and take-out cups of coffee will be served only half full. (It is expected that profits at County TV, Best Buy, Dunkin Donuts and Donut Delight will drop significantly.) Sal was a long time member of Grace Evangelical Church on Courtland Avenue, and loved Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a visitation at Cloonan Middle School auditorium this Sunday, October 19th, from 2 to 4 PM. A memorial service will immediately follow from 4 to 5:15 PM, conducted by Pastor Scott Taylor. The family requests those attending to dress in festive red, white and blue.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Buchetto\u2019s dynamic, unmatchable influence lives on through the countless students whose lives he inspired over 4 decades. Sal measured out at 73 1\/2 inches, and a bouncing 232 pounds, 9 ounces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obituaries in newspapers provide us with rich genealogical information, personal stories and life details like no other source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obituaries often celebrate lives well lived\u2014but rarely with the enthusiasm this recent obituary does. His obituary states: \u201cSal measured out at 73 1\/2 inches, and a bouncing 232 pounds, 9 ounces.\u201d After reading a few lines from Salvatore\u2019s obituary, you quickly realize that he was someone very special to many people. His newspaper obituary reports: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[8153,1102,521,1658,2233,12,2020,27,4818,1084,5059,2043,8152,7449],"class_list":["post-8621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-buchetto","tag-connecticut","tag-ct","tag-family-history-2","tag-family-research","tag-genealogy","tag-newspaper-archives","tag-newspapers","tag-newspapers-for-genealogy","tag-obituaries","tag-obituary-archives","tag-recent-obituaries","tag-salvatore-buchetto","tag-stamford"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8621"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98617,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8621\/revisions\/98617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}