| Sources |
- [S1221] Personal Knowledge: Marty van Lith.
- [S1222] , Karen's Family Tree (N.p.: n.p., n.d.)., Kenneth T. Budny.
- [S728] "," Long Island Newsday, ; online archives (http://www.newsday.com : accessed )., Robert Brodsky; Ken Budny, 69, bayman, environmentalalist; Obituary; 27 Mar 2015, A48.
Ken Budny, an Army veteran and passionate environmentalist who spent 30 years clamming on the Great South Bay, died at his Bellport home March 16 after a seven-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 69.
Budny served on a host of boards and as a trustee in the Village of Bellport before losing re-election in 2013.
Born and raised in Bellport, he graduated from Bellport High School and Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a degree in business administration.
He joined the Peace Corps and taught locals in Guatemala how to grow food. He joined the Army in 1968 and was stationed in Korea. When he returned home in 1970, Budny followed his passion for working on the water. He became a bayman, catching clams, oysters and blue claw crabs, first in the Great South Bay and later in Port Jefferson. Budny harvested for clams using tongs, customized rakes and “treading,” a strategy where he used his feet to dig.
“Ken wanted to be his own boss,” said Helen Budny, 70, his wife of 37 years. “He loved nature and being outdoors.” The couple met througha mutual friend on Ken Budny’s boat, a 24-foot Volker. They had a son, Scott, 37, who lives with his mother in Bellport. Ken Budny also raised his wife’s two children from a previous marriage: John Strano, 50, of Selden, and Tina Strano, 47, of Medford.
Ken Budny sat on the South Shore Estuary Reserve Council, was a member of the Brookhaven Baymen’s Association, served on the Bellport Waterfront Commission and spoke at area high schools on environmental issues.
“He was a bit of a throwback and committed to carrying on the traditions of the baymen,” said Nancy Solomon, a friend and executive director of Long Island Traditions, a Port Washington organization that documents local architecture.
In 2011, Budny was elected Bellport Village trustee, where he focused on issues related to the bay, beaches and the waterfront. “He was extremely dedicated to the community,” said Bellport trustee and Deputy Mayor Leslie O’Connor.
Budny was also an expert decoy carver, creating sculptures of birds and fish from recycled wood. His work has been included in exhibits at the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society and the South Bay Arts Association in Bellport.
From 2000 through February 2015, Budny worked as a facilities manager caring for donated properties at the Post Morrow Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the culture and history of the hamlet of Brookhaven and its surrounding areas.
A memorial service for Budny, who was cremated earlier this month, will be held June 6 at Christ Episcopal Church in Bellport. Along with his wife and children, Budny is survived by four grandchildren; his mother, Betty Budny, 90, of Bellport; and a sister, Christine Baumbauer, 67, of Florida.
- [S49] Long Island Advance (Long Island Advance, 20 Medford Ave, Patchogue, NY), 26 March 2015.
A great Renaissance man who left an impression
BY LINDA LEUZZI
You were always laughing when Ken Budny was around. He would break up people spontaneously, whether it was announcing to friends at Painters’ Restaurant he would play Christmas carols with a pianist’s flourish, then cream the keys with his interpretation
of “Chopsticks.” At the last physical therapy session for his injured finger, he walked into the doctor’s office dressed in a cap and gown to emphasize that he was graduating — from treatment. Then there was Puppet Bear, his crony hand puppet.
It talked to a police officer when he was speeding a bit. “Don’t give him a ticket,” Puppet Bear implored. “He’s such a nice man.” Budny got off.
Budny, a former Bellport Village trustee, Post Morrow facilities manager, lifelong Bellport resident and artist, died on March 15. He was 69.
While humor was entrenched in his DNA, there was also the steady, thoughtful commitment he made to his work, family and community. He had been a bayman for 30 years, tonging for clams from Port Jefferson to Babylon. His time on the water,
whether it was experiencing capricious weather, witnessing the gracefulness of a snowy egret or just appreciating the rhythm of the seas, all made him conscious of life’s interconnectedness. He loved the Great South Bay. Pure and simple. “When people were taking baby crabs out of the water at the Bellport Yacht Club, he put up a sign, ‘Please Don’t Take My Babies,’” said Patty Munson. “It made people think.” When he was trustee, Munson recalled, “staffers said he was the only one who got his hands dirty. He helped rebuild the dock after Superstorm Sandy hit.” “That was the first time I got to know him,” said Bellport Mayor Ray Fell. “He made sure the village got attention from FEMA. I know he loved the village and when he didn’t run again, he was appointed to the waterfront commission and was helpful to dock policy and making sure the waterfront was run correctly.”
Budny would probably chortle at being called a Renaissance man, but it was true. A behind-the-scenes but important employee at the Post-Morrow Foundation in a lot of ways, Budny began working for them in 2000. His calling card was a green Toyota pickup with the nonprofit’s logo. Budny had a natural mind for fixing things mechanically, a double whammy because he also had a fine arts degree from Bowling Green State University and was known for his beautifully carved shorebirds. That artistic bent was probably inherited from his dad Wally, a fine arts graduate himself from Columbia University. The family lived on Livingston Road. “He had a great sense of the land,”
recalled Post Morrow vice president Tom Williams. “He helped with everything. He could build engines and repair boats. He was involved with all of our projects.” Williams said Budny even saved copper wire bits, metal parts like bolts, and aluminum in containers. Then “he would regularly take them up to the recycling place,” William said.
Helen Budny first met her future husband on a boat with another couple. The others drank beer; Helen caught a big flounder. That impressed Ken; he even cooked it for her. As for Puppet Bear, “he would use Puppet Bear to hand out tolls,” she said. Puppet Bear would say controversial things; Helen would chide him for being rude.
“He was so much fun,” she said. “The day he passed, he made a joke that morning. There was humor in almost everything. How I got the name Lambchop from him, I never knew why.” His son Scott Budny worked along with his dad at Post Morrow. “The bst memories I had were the camping trips upstate where he loved to go fly fishing and we’d go to Uncle Pete’s Campground in Phoenicia,” Scott said. “I definitely picked up the sense of humor; he was just fair and kind.” Scott Munson, who had a regular Friday
night date with Budny, said his friend performed a lot of fix-it projects for senior citizens, helping them out when they could no longer do the tasks themselves. But also he just pitched in where there was a need. “I think people will realize how much he did when he isn’t there to do the table setups or put up a trash can,” he said. “There’s countless things nobody knows he did.”
A wake and service was held last Thursday at Robertaccio Funeral Home, Patchogue. Besides his wife Helen and his son Scott Budny, he is survived by his children John Strano and Tina Strano. Those who would like to make a donation in his name may do so to the Post Morrow Foundation.
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1945 - 2014 (68 years)
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