FREDERICK WILLIAM BUSS

November 24, 1949 — March 4, 2024

PALMDALE

Fred was born in Easton, PA, to Irvin and Barbara Buss on Nov. 24, 1949. He was the eldest of three children, having two sisters, Connie and Debbie. At the age of fifteen, Fred lost his father. After high school graduation he enlisted in the Navy and served as a sonar technician aboard the destroyer USS McKean. During Fred’s six-year enlistment, the ship traveled all over the Western Pacific and was stationed for a time off the coast of Vietnam. Fred enjoyed visiting Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines, among other ports. In Australia and New Zealand, he was able to spend time with a young local family in each country, and they remained life-long friends. Stateside, the ship was stationed in Long Beach, CA. There, Fred met his future wife Terrie at the Long Beach Armed Services YMCA, which provided activities and services similar to a USO.

Fred and Terrie married in 1973, and after his discharge from the Navy, they moved to Santa Barbara, CA, where he attended Santa Barbara City College. Then followed a move to Davis, CA, with their two young daughters, Heather and Emily. Fred attended UC Davis and earned his BS degree in Environmental Planning and Management.

Fred began his career as a city planner in Orange, CA. During his time there, the family welcomed their third daughter, Allison. Fred advanced in his career and was employed by several different cities during the course of his 37-year career. The family settled in Palmdale in 1990. Fred spent his last seventeen years as a planner working for the City of La Canãda Flintridge, retiring in 2015.

Fred loved his retirement years, being able to do as he wished, and spending time with his family. His two little dogs provided endless entertainment, and loved sitting in his lap. Family get-togethers almost always included tacos. He had an eclectic taste in music and he passed along his love of music to his daughters. He was so interested in all types of technology; he owned a personal computer from the first models which used a portable tape recorder. He reveled in his role as the “tech guy” for friends and relatives.

Fred fought lung cancer (he was a non-smoker) for two years, and was blessed to feel good almost all of that time. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Terrie, his three daughters and sons-in-law Heather and Chris Gilcrest, Emily and Richard Amado, and Allison and Dan Pincas, his five grandchildren Caleb and Evan Andrews, and Evelyn, Jillian, and Gabriel Amado. He is

also survived by his sister Debbie Norton, his brother-in-law Bill Galdun, loving sisters-and-brothers-in-law on Terrie’s side, 17 nieces and nephews, and other close extended family. He was pre-deceased by his father, Irvin Buss, his mother and step-father Barbara and Earl Snyder, his brother-in-law Fred Norton, and his sister Connie, less than six months ago.

We are blessed to have so many wonderful friends praying for us and supporting us through Fred’s illness and death. We appreciate each one of you. Our beloved husband, dad, and grandpa, you will be remembered, missed, and loved as you rest in Our Lord’s loving embrace.

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