Brothers dies 9 hours apart at nursing home
JACKSON TWP — Chuck and Dave Buzard were separated in age by 18 months. They were separated in death by only nine hours.
The two brothers, who lived two doors from each other at the Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation Center in Jackson Township, both died Wednesday.
Chuck, 76, died of lung cancer, and Dave, 75, died of heart failure.
Dave had been living at Evergreen for about six months. Chuck moved in back in June.
Their sister, Tina Hartung of Mars, noted how unusual and surprising it was to find out that they had died so close together. She said that many people noted that they had heard of husbands and wives dying that way, but never brothers.
“There were a lot of people that commented,” she said.
The pair grew up in a family of nine children.
“The whole family was very close,” Hartung said. “Each person was different.”
The brothers were raised Baptist and graduated from Evans City High School. Chuck joined the Navy and later retired from Lava Crucible in Zelienople. Dave retired from U.S. Steel Tube Mill in Ellwood City.
Chuck enjoyed hunting and skeet shooting; Dave liked fishing.
Both enjoyed playing cards. When Chuck served in the Navy, he excelled at playing chess and had the ability to count cards.
Although living and dying so close to each other, the two men were different types of people.Gregg Hartung, Tina's husband, said that Dave was more outgoing and determined, and occasionally aggressive.“He was more of an extrovert,” he said.He said that Chuck was more passive and reflective, coinciding with his skills as a chess player.However, Gregg Hartung noted that both of them were caring and willing to help others any way they could.The A. Carl Kinsey-Ronald N. Volz Funeral Home in Evans City is handling funeral arrangements.Their obituary is on Page A8.
