Joseph Bernie Bernard Buren

Bernie was a cornerstone of St. Albert the Great Catholic Church for more than 40 years. He was the President of the St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Albert as well as contributed in numerous other activities at the Church. He was the Comptroller of the Jefferson County School Board until he retired in 2003.

Upon his retirement, he became a Docent at the Louisville Zoo. He loved the zoo and would ramble on an on about it. He loved being with the animals, interacting with them and more importantly loved all the people he worked with as well as visitors he met. He had a warm spot in his heart for every Docent and their love towards him showed while he was sick. The outpouring of support from the zoo kept a smile on his face throughout the whole ordeal.

Bernie was an extremely gracious and generous person. He truly cared about other people first and it showed in his character. His will to take the extra step to ensure that everyone around him was happy was one of his greatest attributes. His gracious donations to the community, church, zoo and many other charitable organizations helped define his character.

He was an avid tennis player for several years and enjoyed the company of the many participants in the sport. Bernie and Jayne Ann developed many life-long friends over their 51 years of marriage and kept these relationships strong through the years.

The most important thing in the world to Bernie was his Wife of 51 years, Jayne Ann. They were inseparable! They were a perfect match, rarely disagreeing, but when they did, Bernie conceded to Jayne Ann as he knew she was right! Their biggest joys were celebrating family birthdays every month, going to the lake every year, celebrating Holidays together and their 50th wedding Anniversary. Bernie shaped, enriched and impacted every person he met! He will be greatly missed and his legacy will live forever.

Left to cherish his memory are his Wife, Jayne Ann, 4 Sons, Bernie Jr, Larry, Mike and Chris, 3 Brothers, Mike, Dave and Bruce, his Step-Mother, Wilma and 12 loving Grandchildren.

His Funeral Mass will be conducted at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 1395 Girard Dr. at 11:30am, Saturday, November 5th with a reception in the cafeteria immediately following. Visitation will be held at Arch L Heady & Son Funeral Home at Westport Village from 4:00pm – 8:00pm on Friday, November 4th. Donations can be made to Creative Diversity Studio, 107 South Ewing, Louisville, KY 40206, an art studio for individuals with disabilities. Please make donations in the name of Bernie Buren.