Obituary

Basil Eugene Reynolds bravely left this life on October 31, 2019 at 61 years. He was truly a hero to many. He was a devoted husband of 40 years to his wife, Shelly, and loving father to his three children and 4 grandchildren. He was a member of the Lake Houston church of Christ in Humble, Texas.

Known all his life affectionately as “Buz,” he was born March 19, 1958 in Ames, Iowa- the child of Royce Ray Reynolds and Cinderella Dupree Bullington Reynolds. He was the 4th born of 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls.

His childhood was spent in Harlan, Iowa. As a young teenager his parents committed their lives to missionary work in Ghana, West Africa and bravely moved their 5 young children across the ocean and settled in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa. We have been told stories our entire life of his antics and adventures in Ghana. In his own words: “Not many men/boys built mud block houses at 16, wandered about Africa as a child, or crossed the Atlantic on a freighter at 17.”

In Ghana, under the watchful eye of his mother, an RN, he was required to meticulously complete his homeschool studies and was expected to also accompany his Father, an evangelist, to many various church of Christ classes and services. He helped spread the gospel and those who knew him well, know that he had a vast knowledge of the Bible. In spite of his duties, he must have had plenty of free time to ride his motorbike with his best friend Gabriel riding on the back. Gabriel said that countless young Ghanaian girls would approach him and ask that he help convince Buz to marry them. In time, he learned enough conversational Twi (the local language) to answer for himself. This is a skill that he valued for the rest of his life; Striking up small conversations with Ghanaians in the workplace, streets, restaurants, taxi cabs, Etc. Ghanaians were always so excited to meet him and hear stories of his childhood. His favorite Ghanaian foods were banku with goat soup, grilled guinea fowl, and red-red with plenty of shito sauce. He always dreamed of returning to Ghana.

Once home in the USA he had his share of further adventures, graduating High School in Marysville, Ohio in 1977. Soon after that, the family moved

To Athens, Alabama until he left home to go exploring with all of his worldly possessions packed into his VW Beetle. His further adventures included being homeless In Norfolk, Virginia with only his VW bug, and sleeping on a park bench with newspapers for covers.

After moving back home to Athens for a while, he eventually headed to Lubbock, Texas in November 1978 where he married Shelly Parker, they were married in Crosbyton, Texas on February 10, 1979 at the church of Christ building there. They settled in Lubbock, Texas. For his first job there, he convinced someone at the West Texas Caterpillar Dealership that he was skilled enough as a diesel mechanic to work on the big Caterpillars. On his first day he showed up with a small handheld box of tools, was laughed at and graciously allowed to sweep up until he could prove himself. He eventually did prove himself many times over. During that time as a mechanic he worked several other jobs, Furrs, and West Texas Equipment, (Rip Griffin), he also helped start as partial owner, Lubbock Truck Sales and worked as a diesel mechanic on 18 wheelers from dawn until dusk, always rising to the top at every place he worked.

It was very important to him that Shelly didn’t work outside of the home once the kids came along. He worked his way up from 50-60 hours a week in a greasy mechanic shirt with a name patch on his breast - advanced to shop foreman, to service manager and ultimately general manager and probably every job in between. During this time of his life he also managed apartments, mowed the church lawn, and repaired lawnmowers in the garage to make extra money. He eventually worked for Freightliner Dealerships in Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, Gulfport, MS, Mobile, AL, Dallas, and most recently Houston as the Corporate Service Manager.

In his words, “I've owned a successful business. literally earned a couple fortunes. lost them all and kept on going.” His obsessions and interests included writing, motorcycles, corvettes, cooking, boats, fishing, guns, mechanical work, and tools. He had too many hobbies to count, many culminating in injury. He closed wounds with sewing-thread and/ or superglue, dug shotgun pellets from his body with a knife and pulled fishhooks from his arms with needle nose pliers and passed many kidney stones with no medication. He was a boss to many, a mentor to most, and a friend to all. In March 2016 he was able to return to his beloved Ghana and for that we are eternally grateful. When he was diagnosed with ALS his main lament was, he felt he had stories that needed to be told, and that his body would no longer allow him to tell. One of his first symptoms was the loss of his speech. Stories about motorcycle trips, adventures with friends, dreams of Africa, childhood memories, and “fish stories in sacred streams only to be imagined.” He looked forward bravely “for good in disease and saw only another chapter in a colorful life.” He loved a quote from The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck. "No Matter how good a man is, there's always some horse can pitch him." He passed from this earthly world on October 31, 2019 after bravely fighting ALS for almost 4 years surrounded by his entire family. He is survived by his wife Shelly, his children (Lyndie) and Rowdy Derryberry, (Kaleb) and Emily Reynolds, (Tera) and Zane Wolfe, as well as the most precious people in his life, his grandchildren, Audrey Grace Wolfe, Lilah Belle Derryberry, Scarlett Rae Wolfe, and Parker Buz Reynolds. He is also survived by the best siblings a man could ever have, (Paul) and Pam Reynolds, (Rick) and Pam Reynolds, (Kandie) and Steve Taylor, (Cathy) and Charlie Letson and those he considered his siblings Tommy and Kem Ryan, and Kevin and Sonja Parker. He was preceded in death by his father, Royce Ray in 2003 and his mother, Cindy in 2006. He will be remembered by countless best friends, colleagues, mentors, students, and unofficial “adopted” children, all of which he counted as family.

We have comfort knowing that he passed with peace in his heart, a clean conscience, and God's promise to see heaven and his loved ones there again. "All you can take with you is that which you've given away." It's a Wonderful Life.

Special thanks to Berry Thomas, a long-time family friend and dedicated nurse with Devotion Hospice of Houston.