John Carlos Buada

John was a responsible hard-working person of strong moral character and principles who cared for and loved his family. His presence in our lives will be greatly missed.

John was born on March 15, 1947, at Children’s Hospital in San Francisco to John Sibit Buada, a Philippine naturalized citizen, and Laurine Hazel Buada, of European descent. He was the 2nd of 5 siblings, all of whom attended All Hallows Catholic grammar school in the Bay View District of San Francisco. He applied and was accepted into St. Ignatius (S.I.) where he excelled for the Wildcats in track and football, earning honors and awards in both, most notably his senior year when as running back and captain on the football team, he earned All City status. Wanting to continue playing football, he attended Humboldt State, played there his freshman year, did well and transferred to UC Berkeley hoping to continue doing the same. He had the heart and the speed but not quite the size needed for the larger program and hung up his pads after 1 year. It was at Berkeley where he received his Bachelors in Communication and met and married Nancy Roberts at the age of 21. The newlyweds moved to Fresno where John completed a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning at Fresno State College.

John’s life was defined greatly by his work. At the age of 12, he had a paper route, delivering the San Francisco Examiner 7 days a week at the crack of dawn before he went to school. He paid his high school tuition by working at a Catholic bookstore in downtown San Francisco after school and on weekends. He paid for college by working as a forest firefighter parajumper, jumping out of planes to light backfires, as well as running a landscape gardening business.

John joined Fresno County Planning Department in 1976 as a Civil and Regional Planner and was responsible for writing the 1976 General Plan for Fresno County that rezoned river bottom and agricultural land to twenty acres which was very controversial at the time. In the Jesuit tradition learned from his years at S.I., he believed it was possible to respect differences, to engage in critical thinking and to find a common ground when dealing with challenges through dialogue and debating facts. In the book “Take me to the River – Fishing, Swimming and Dreaming on the San Joaquin”, John is mentioned in the introduction, “… he honed his diplomatic skills negotiating with private landowners, government entities and gravel mining companies. While spending years on the San Joaquin River, representing many different companies, he has led children and adults on nature walks and photographed the abundant wildlife found in these rich habitats”.

In 1979, John left the Fresno Planning Department to work exclusively as Buada Associates performing environmental impact reports and writing the plans for sand and gravel mining companies to obtain permits to perform their work and then restore the rivers after reclamation.

He was a naturalist and an environmentalist who took to photographing the return of native plants, animals and insects that came back to the San Joaquin and King’s Rivers after sand and gravel mining was completed and reclamation and restoration was accomplished. He also participated in the State’s annual migrant bird counts in the Spring and the Fall all along the Central Valley wetlands. His exquisite photographs of birds, animals and flora became Calendars each year for his clients and also for the family which we looked forward to receiving.

As a father, John became a devoted coach for his daughters, Jacque and Niki, in both soccer and softball while they were in grade school and varsity softball coach when they were attending Bullard High in Fresno. Under his guidance, the Bullard softball team qualified to travel to the Australia Games in 1990 and received 2nd place.

His own sport became golf eventually which was an opportunity for him to stop working for a half a minute and hang out with his colleagues, friends and his younger brother Charlie.

John continued to stay fit, run and work out his entire life. On his 75th birthday, he performed 80 push-ups and was running 3 miles every day.

John was also a committed and talented gardener, producing an abundance of colorful vegetables, herbs and fruit every year. He loved being home and enjoying his garden with his second and beloved wife, Stephanie.

John is survived by his wife Stephanie Simonian Buada and her daughters, Alison and Jhana (Dave); his daughters from his first marriage, Jacque (James) and Niki; his grandchildren, John Riley, Dakota, Kate, Emily, Ella, Nathanael, David and Avi; and his siblings Karen, Patti, Luisa and Charlie (Kathi); as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

A Celebration of John Buada’s Life will be held on Saturday, June 14, at 10am at Stephens and Bean Funeral Chapel, 202 N. Teilman Ave., Fresno.

Reception with appetizers and refreshments to follow at The Elbow Room Bar & Grill, 731 W. San Jose Ave., Fresno.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a gift in his Memory may be given to:

The California Native Plants Society - https://secure2.convio.net/cnps/site/Donation2?df_id=1480&mfc_pref=T&1480.donation=form1

Hinds Hospice - https://www.hindshospice.org/donate/