Obituary of John C. Buffington

John C. “Red” Buffington, age 81, resident of Millcreek, passed away on Monday, August 22, 2016, after a valiant effort to recover from a sudden heart attack. He was born in Brookville, PA on April 9, 1935, the son of the late Price and Marguerite Buffington. John attended Brookville H.S. and then moved to North East, PA to live in St. Barnabas House and attend North East High School (Class of 1955). After high school, he enlisted in the US Air Force and served overseas in Japan as a base photographer and also earned a brown belt in judo. After the service, never one to miss out on an adventure, he went to Alaska to fight forest fires. In 1965 John graduated from Edinboro University of PA with a B.S. in Sciences and later earned his Masters from Penn State University. His life’s work was a teacher of Earth Science at McDowell H.S. where he taught for 31 years. With an enthusiasm for flying after spending years in the Air Force, John moved to Vero Beach, FL to work at Piper Aircraft and to learn how to fly. He’s been flying since and owned a Piper J-3 Cub from which he took aerial photos. If you’ve ever seen a yellow plane flying over, that would be most likely John. He was married to Kay Rockey on July 2, 1966 and they just celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary. John is survived by his wife, Kay; sister, JoAnn Allshouse; daughter Heidi; son, Jack and wife Naomi and their son, Rufus Buffington; four cousins, three nieces, and one nephew. He was a member of the Erie Photography Club, Experimental Aircraft Association, Penn State Alumni Association, Thursday Y Men’s Club, Hi-Lo Camping Group, Cub Club, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. His loves were flying his Piper J-3, aerial photography, and enjoying a good ice cream cone. Friends may call at the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd. on Saturday, August 27, 2016 from 12:00 Noon until time of Funeral Service there at 3:00 p.m. Private interment Brookville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 4710 Old French Rd., Erie, PA 16509 or to Asbury Woods Nature Center, 4105 Asbury Rd., Erie, PA 16506.