"I'm so sorry for your loss. As Brandi's childhood friend, Nora and Renno always took me in like I was part of the family. I remember going hiking with the family. My first experiences hiking were with them. They always pointed out different types of lichen, fungi, moss, and wild strawberries. They were really special times."
In loving memory of
Renno W Budziak
February 15, 1944 - January 4, 2019
Due to the pending winter storm, Mr. Budziak's Celebration of Life will be postponed until Saturday, January 26, 2019, from 2pm to 5pm.
Renno Budziak passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on January 4, 2019 at the age of 74. Renno immigrated to this country with his parents and two older brothers in 1951 and settled and grew up in Newburgh, N.Y. Like his brothers, he pursued an engineering career and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from TRIN University in Indiana where he was also a member of Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. He worked on an MBA degree with a concentration on New Product Venture Management at Syracuse University. He was hired as a new product design engineer by Ingersoll-Rand in Athens Pa. and as a result of a productive and successful design career, he became Manager of Engineering and was responsible for all engineering related aspects and functions. He was issued a number of U.S. and international patents associated with his new product designs. In 1985, after a seventeen year career with Ingersoll-Rand, he was recruited by Huck International in Kingston, NY where he became Vice President and Director of Engineering and Quality Control.
Beyond his career in engineering and design, Renno was involved with a number of community related activities both in Athens, PA as well as in Kingston and the Town of Ulster, NY. He was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce as well as the Valley Ski Club where he met his wife and together they organized the first Joint Jc/JnC Project producing an annual Antique Show.In Kingston he served as a longtime board director of the Kingston Land Trust where he used his expertise to further efforts to protect and preserve land and promote appropriate and sustainable land use. Renno also served on the Greenline Committee formed by Kingston Land Trust helping to establish a rail trail network in Kingston with connectivity to surrounding areas. Renno was a founding member and former Co-President of the Rondout Rowing Club with whom he remained active. He previously served as a board member of the Sayre-Athens, PA. Joint Sewer Authority and as Board Chair of Junior Achievement, which had an operational business simulation program for high school students. Renno also previously served as a member and Chairperson of the Town of Ulster Planning Board as well as on the Town of Ulster Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee, as a member of the Ulster County Planning Board and its Executive Committee and as a task force member for the Walkill Valley Rail Trail.
Renno is survived by his wife, Nora, his daughter Brandi and her partner Kyle, his brother Benon and his wife Jean and their children Patricia, Teresa and Robert, his nephew Thomas and his wife Kim, and his nephews and nieces, Joseph, Krystin, Alexander, Emma and Elize. Renno's brother Zenon predeceased him.
A celebration of Renno's life will be held on Saturday January 26, 2019 from 2pm to 5pm at Keyser Funeral Service located at 326 Albany Ave. Kingston, New York. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Kingston Land Trust and be dedicated to open space and habitat preservation in the Town of Ulster. Donations can electronically here https://donorbox.org/donate-to-the-kingston-land-trust or mailed to Kingston Land Trust, PO Box 2701, Kingston NY 12402.
Tributes
"Brandy and Nora I am so so sorry for your loss I didn't know Renno that long but he was a very very nice man I can always remember him raking them big piles of leaves and he always waved and talk when he came by "
"Nora and Brandy I am so so sorry for your loss I didn't know rental that long couple years maybe but he he was the nicest guy I ever met and I will miss him breaking them big heaps of leaves out down there your friend Ed"
"Renno always impressed me with his thoughtful intelligence and his caring, supportive manner. A true public servant, who lifted up everyone he encountered!"
"To: Renno family and friends I met and worked with Renno while he was on the Town of Ulster Planning Board. Years later I was ice skating at the Lion's Rink in Saugerties when a tall skinny guy on speed skates glided past me in perfect speed skating form as if I was still in 2nd gear. In about 7 seconds when he had gone all the way around the rink and was passing me again he said, hey Matt. He slowed his long and elegant gliding speed down and I sped up and we talked and skated then, and in a good number of other days' subsequent skating sessions. In one of those, Renno asked if I rowed (crew) because he told me, speed skating is very similar to rowing (?). I said yes about rowing but only in canoes, kayaks and row boats but not rowing crew although the idea always appealed to me because I knew a good joke about rowing crew and also having had a cousin who I thought rowed crew in college. Renno told me about the Rondout Rowing Club (RRC) which I joined the next Spring about 5-6 years ago. It turns out that what Renno told me about rowing being similar to speed skating is absolutely true in that in neither do you want to "rush the slide"! Which, stricture, in my subsequent 5-6 years of rowing, has been repeated about 1,000 times usually by the longest standing members; and with every passed, and I am now sure every future repeat of hearing, ?don?t rush the slide? I think of Renno?s, elegant long, graceful and very fast ice skating style and that if it weren?t for Renno I would not be engaged in and in love with rowing. Renno, also maneuvered me, through multiple County and Town of Woodstock contacts, into ending up on the Ulster County Planning Board which he was going to be Chairman of and we could work together on and do "good things". He was then promptly not reappointed by a newly elected Town Supervisor and I was left there ?alone?. Renno, if you?re listening, the jury is still out on whether or not I thank you for that contact; but the jury is not out on how much I miss and respect you and your life - connected to so many fine causes and people. Thank you for all that. Oh, and also, Renno really laughed at my rowing joke. Matthew Rudikoff January 25, 2019 "
"I never met Renno but knew of his many talents and accomplishments. Indeed, these tributes paint a picture of an exceptional and dear man. My heart breaks for you, Nora and Brandi. Prayers for you and your immeasurable loss. AND FLIGHTS OF ANGELS SING THEE TO THY REST........"
"I met Renno when he worked for Win Morrison Real Estate and we became fast friends. We used to talk about our dogs and all kinds of life experiences. One memory sticks out in my mind,when I asked Renno what he and Nora were doing for Thanksgiving. My in-laws were here for a visit and after Reno said they had no specific plans, I called them and invited them for dinner. I will always cherish that day, and for knowing this wonderful human being. "
"Sara & Michael Beames are sorry that they will miss Renno's visitation as we will be overseas. Renno was great fun to row with . He had a great sense of humor and was one of the kindest and most giving man we have ever known-- when we moved into our new studio & called him for some mechanical advice he drove over immediately to help us! We will miss him."
"Having known Renno for only this past year through our collective work with the TownOfUlsterCitizens.org, I was deeply saddened by the passing of this accomplished, highly intelligent and principled man. Because of the deep respect for people with whom he agreed or disagreed, you wanted to be in his company. He had the uncommon wisdom of trying to understand a person before being understood. Nora and Brandi, thank you for sharing this remarkable man with our community. Regis Obijiski"
"You will be missed! Our family bonfires won?t be the same."
"Just such a lovely human being. Glad to have known him. His contributions to the community were countless. Rest in peace dear Renno. My thoughts are with his family."
"Renno Budziak was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. His absence will be sorely missed by all that knew him. You have left this world much too early. Rest in peace Renno knowing that you impacted many of the lives you touched. Brian Mondello"
"I met Renno 22 years ago when we came together to found the Rondout Rowing Club. We spent many Wednesday evenings together in our ? think tank? planning, problem solving but most of all laughing and getting to know one another. Renno?s gentle manner, analytical mind and paternal presence where both a guiding force and a great comfort as we navigated the unfamiliar waters of establishing the club, acquiring and restoring equipment , then figuring out how to use it. Renno continued to shepherd us along, keeping his vision of an expanding and inclusive organization. He will be sorely missed by all."