Coach Buzz

Buzz (Bart) Famularo passed away Saturday, August 17th, after a courageous battle with cancer. All of this began for him a little more than 8 years ago with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer. Buzz has a lump on his neck and he decided, with some encouragement from a friend, to go to the doctor to get it checked out. Everyone was just sure that it was "nothing" and all would be well. All was not well.... and that was the beginning of his journey. He recovered from that initial blow and  managed to regroup and get things back to his new normal until spring of 2018. Buzz was again diagnosed with cancer but this time it was a sarcoma. He remained positive, made it through the surgery, and began his path to recovery. The treatment was difficult and resulted in damage to his kidneys and other areas of his body and eventually it got to a point where he was unable to continue with treatment. He always tried to keep a positive outlook on things and made it clear throughout his fight that it was going to be handled on his terms and he wanted things to move forward "business as usual". Buzz was a dedicated family man, proud Clemson alumnus and avid fan of Notre Dame Preparatory School where he was both a parent and coach to many. He treasured the time  he had with all the kids he coached and was especially grateful to have been able to be there for all of his children's accomplishments in sports and academics at Notre Dame. 

Buzz will long be remembered for his activity at Notre Dame Prep as a parent and coach. He and Teresa have made many life-long friendships with parents, faculty and students and hold so many of these people near and dear to their hearts. He was a graduate of Clemson University and made many wonderful friends there as well. He spoke frequently of all the good times he had and proudly wore Clemson orange whenever possible! He seemed to make friends wherever he would go and always lit up a room when he walked in.

Buzz worked for Huntington Bank for 9 years, there, he was one of the greatest commercial bankers in Michigan. Not only was he always a top producer, but he was more importantly, a friend and mentor to his Huntington family.

Buzz was a devoted family man. He was extremely proud of his children and they and Teresa were the light of his life. Throughout these past 8 years there were many struggles he faced as a result of his cancer and tried very hard to make sure that he kept those struggles to himself so as not to burden Teresa and the kids. He always wanted what was best for them and always wanted them to be happy. He was determined to made sure that Vinny, Dom, and Maria were going to have the best education and grow up knowing that they were loved and supported no matter the cost.

If you would like to support the family through this most difficult time they will be forever grateful. As you can imagine with two fights against cancer and three kids in college they face extreme financial stress. This money will go toward medical bills and college expenses for the kids. From all of us who knew and loved Buzz, this is a very difficult time. We should all come together to remember all that he meant to us and feel great comfort in knowing that he left a mark on our hearts that will remain there forever.