Wesley J. Buller

Windom National Guard; Camp Rucker, AL (1951); Fort Jackson, SC (Jan 1952)
  • Military specialty: Mechanic
  • Awards: Unknown

b. 13 Jun 1931; d. 10 Jan 2009. Wesley James Buller, son of Henry J. and Marie (Enns) Buller, was born in Mt Lake, MN.  At that time, his family lived on a farm near Butterfield, MN.

Wes first learned to speak English in first grade. At home the family only spoke in “low” German (a mixture of German, Dutch and Russian). After high school, he worked as a mechanic at Clarence Harder’s Garage in Mt. Lake, MN.

He was in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1951 as a mechanic. He was also active in the National Guard for many years. On 16 Jan 1951, Wesley left the Windom area with the “Fort Ruckers Boys” to go to Fort Ruckers, AL.  They were part of the National Guard unit, Battery B, 125th Field Artillery. They were trained at the camp  and then spent the next 18 to 24 months in active duty either overseas or in the U.S.

On 24 Jun 1957, Wesley married Arlene Lois Hannigan at the First Mennonite Church in Mountain Lake. Following their marriage the couple lived in Mountain Lake until 1960, when they moved to St. James, MN where he worked at the Neumann-Williamson Buick Dealership as a mechanic. In 1966 Wesley was hired to run Wallace Auto Parts in St. James. In 1968, they moved to Minneapolis, making their home in Columbia Heights, MN where Wallace Auto Parts had opened a new store. He left Wallace Auto Parts in 1978 and went to work at FMC as a machinist until he retired in 1993. After he retired, he liked fishing as well as spending time with children and grandchildren. Wesley was a former member of the First Presbyterian church in St. James. Arlene passed away in 1994 at the VA Medical Center in MPLS.

Wesley died in 2009 and was buried at the Mount Hope Cemetery, St James, MN.

 

  • Obituary: Yes