In Memory of Herman J. Bueno
In Memory of
Herman J. Bueno
Herman J. Bueno was born on July 31, 1958, to John and Marion Ziebart Bueno. He had two brothers, John (deceased) and Steve, and two sisters, Patricia and Paula. He graduated from Southport High School in 1976 and the University of Indianapolis in 1980. He married Paula Navarra in 1982, and they had two lovely daughters, Amy and Emily, who blessed Herman and Paula with four grandchildren: Hollis, Palmer, Ava, and Aria. He loved his family—especially his grandchildren—running, telling running stories, coaching, woodworking, fishing, and of course, teaching. The Good Lord took him home on August 12, 2025.
I became friends with Herman when we were teenagers. Even though he was a grade ahead of me and we went to different schools, we still became very close friends. We competed against each other in cross country and track. In his senior year of high school, he was the number one runner on the cross-country team that won the state championship. That same year, I was the number one runner on the team that directed parking at the state championship. He was an elite runner who set records everywhere he ran—many of which lasted for over 40 years.
I became friends with Herman when we were teenagers. Even though he was a grade ahead of me and we went to different schools, we still became very close friends. We competed against each other in cross country and track. In his senior year of high school, he was the number one runner on the cross-country team that won the state championship. That same year, I was the number one runner on the team that directed parking at the state championship. He was an elite runner who set records everywhere he ran—many of which lasted for over 40 years.
Herman was recruited by nearly every university in the Midwest but chose to attend the University of Indianapolis to be close to his family. It proved to be a good choice since UIndy’s cross-country team was one of the top teams in the nation. I was fortunate to be recruited by UIndy a year later and was privileged to be his teammate. In 1978 our team qualified for the NCAA II Nationals. Herman went again as an individual in 1979. Throughout his competitive years, he racked up more records, wins, and awards than anyone of that time period. And with all his achievements, I never once heard him brag or boast about his success as a runner. However, outside of running, Herman turned everything into a competition, and I was always the competitor. But in all honesty, and with complete modesty, I clobbered him at everything else we did.
It was also during our college days that I met Susie. It was the blizzard of ’78. Our university had a running track at the top of the gym, and with the snow so deep it was impossible to run outdoors. Although Susie was still in high school, she had come with a friend to train at our indoor track. Fortunately, Herman knew Susie’s friend, so I asked him to set up a double date, which he did.
Both Herman and I majored in the same field with the same desire to teach and coach. After graduating, Herman landed a teaching job in Speedway, just a few miles from the Indy 500 track (fitting for a runner). But after just one year of teaching, he became part of a statewide teacher cutback which forced him to find a temporary job in the public sector. He was immediately hired by IBM and worked in the new world of computer technology. But after having to move three times in five years, he decided it was time to go back and look for a teaching job, which he landed in the same school district he had grown up in. He taught science at Keystone Middle School for over 30 years and coached for more than 20 of those years.
It was about this same time that he married a math teacher from Whiteland High School (my alma mater) by the name of Paula Navarra. Susie and I had gotten married a year before Herman and Paula. Herman was in Susie’s and my wedding, and I was in Paula’s and his wedding. For over 40 years Herman and Paula have been Susie’s and my best friends.
Both Herman and Paula worked at MASW from the very beginning. Paula became our secretary, who wore many hats over the years, and Herman, along with Zane, helped me gut the original building and turn it into a school. From the beginning, he would help me clean the shop after each class and prepare wood for upcoming classes. During his summer breaks, he assisted here from the mid-90s until 2015. Once his school went to year-round, his time to help at MASW became limited to just a few weeks during the summer and a week or two during his fall and spring breaks. Herman loved to chip carve, do marquetry work, and make Shaker oval boxes. He taught his first class at MASW in 2006 and continued to teach chip carving and Shaker oval boxes until 2024.
During the summer of 2022, Herman assisted at a weekend workshop in June of that year and seemed to be perfectly normal. But on Sunday morning that same weekend, he mentioned to Paula that he was having some pain in his side, and at her insistence, he went to have it checked. It turned out that he had prostate cancer that was already stage IV. We went from a Saturday when his world was normal to four days later when he was given the news that he only had 2–5 years if he was lucky. His first body scan showed the cancer had already spread to nearly every bone in his body, with virtually no options. For the next three years, he struggled with horrible pain that never eased. You never know how strong someone is until strength is all they have left, and Herman never gave up.
Losing a lifelong friend is hard, especially when they are battling a horrible illness. But he never had to battle it alone. Paula and their daughters were there for him, his beautiful grandchildren were there for him, his sister and brother were there for him, all the kids he coached were there for him, his entire school system was there for him, his neighbors were there for him, his high school and college running buddies were there for him, members of his church were there for him, and of course the entire MASW family was there for him. He touched thousands and thousands of lives and will find peace in heaven’s embrace. In life we are fortunate for those who make our lives brighter.
“Today my life is shining.”
The MASW community is thankful for Herman’s life and his contribution to making each of our lives just a little better.
For more information on how you can donate to a scholarship fund in Herman’s memory,