John Buyce
March 25, 2011

John “Jack” MeVeigh Buyce died peacefully after a short illness on March 25, 2011.
He was born June 16, 1935, and spent a rambunctious childhood in Speculator and Lake Pleasant, N.Y. He had a lifelong love of the outdoors and spent many adventurous hours in the wilderness and waters around his home.
He hunted and especially loved fishing. He and his brothers, Gerald and Ray, loved spending time at Northwoods Lodge, their family’s summer boarding house and cottages. An Adirondack guide, emergency technician and National Ski Patrol member, Jack was a winner of a silver medal in the slalom event at Southern European Task Force Ski Championships.
He served in the United States Army as a member of the 69th Ordinance Company in Vincenza, Italy. He worked at Oak Mountain as a young man and later at both the Belleayre and Whiteface mountain ski centers.
Jack once trained a fledgling group of girls, attempting to take the ski patrol exam for the first time. All the girls passed, and the tall redhead, Sylvia, became his wife. She awaits him in heaven with their son, Brian, so glad to have Mom and Dad together again.
Jack Buyce was a man who asked, “What can I do for you?” The repetition of that simple question to all the people over all the years wove a rich remarkable life. On the phone, in the driveway, standing on the porch, he would ask this question. Oftentimes, the answer was, “Nothing right now, I’m okay,” but there were many other times when he was the deep safe harbor, where people came to tell their tale and gather their thoughts.
Coffee was poured. Stories were told. Knowledge passed. Plans were made and checked up on. Sometimes you walked away laughing. Occasionally, you caught hell because you knew you had it coming. But his capacity for patience and forgiveness was limitless, so his door never closed to anyone.
Jack lived with his family in the villages of Roxbury and Northville, N.Y., while following a 40-year career in the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation. He managed the campgrounds that stretch across the Adirondack and Catskill mountain parks.
He was a strong leader who had vast practical knowledge, a keen intellect and the power to motivate. Above all, he was most proud of his family.
Survivors include his children, Bradford L. (Vanessa) Buyce, Stephanie Buyce, Andrew L. (Kristen) Buyce, and Tracey Joy McVeigh (Peter) Buyce, and his brother, Dr. M. Raymond Buyce. Grandchildren include Zak and Nik Ratajczak and Dustin, Brittany, Keith and Ila Buyce, and he is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. Jack was predeceased by his wife, Sylvia L., and son Brian J., parents Ethel and L. Milton Buyce, brother Gerald and nephew “Jim.”
Family and friends may call on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Northville Funeral Home, 401 Bridge St., Northville. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 1 p.m. at the Jay Gould Memorial Dutch Reformed Church on Main Street in Roxbury, N.Y.
Burial will be held in the Roxbury Cemetery.
Condolences may be made to the family online at www.northvillefuneralservice.com