Naperville Jaycees to honor its founding father

At the beginning of each Naperville Jaycees meeting, Charles "Chuck" Bueche would stand up and say, "Hi, my name is Chuck Bueche. I am retired."

And the room would erupt into wild applause - a standing ovation every time.

"I thought, 'OK, that's kind of weird,'" said David Byrne, who was told of this ritual as he began the process of becoming a Jaycee.

Then he met Chuck Bueche, a founding father of the Naperville organization dedicated to helping those in the community, and he understood why many revered Bueche as a godfather-like figure within the Jaycees.

"He literally was the founding father of the Jaycees in 1954," Byrne said. "His name is right there on the top of the charter members. And he has been active in the Jaycees for that entire time and active in the community."

The 200-plus member organization said goodbye to a leader this year when Bueche passed away in March at age 81.

In his honor, the Jaycees dedicated Last Fling 2010 to Bueche with the theme of "Celebrating a lifetime of community service - In memory of Charles 'Chuck' Bueche."

Volunteers will wear T-shirts adorned with the theme and past Jaycees officials will wear his initials as well.

Bueche's widow, Audrey, was named parade marshal and will ride in his honor when the procession steps off at 10 a.m. Monday.

"Volunteering is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on earth," Audrey said, repeating a line Chuck - a man who was known for his inspirational quotes - often used.

The words weren't just lip service to Bueche, who moved to Naperville while attending North Central College and never left town. It's where he met Audrey, his wife of almost 58 years. It's where he went on to raise three children.

And while living life and raising children, he dedicated himself to his community as well.

"He was a great father and grandfather and a husband. Not a rich man, but he lived a rich life," Audrey said.

The World War II veteran was a lifetime member of the American Legion and the VFW, serving as a past commander of Naperville's American Legion Post 43.

For years he served on the Heritage YMCA board, in addition to the work he did with the Boy Scouts, the before- and after-school program, Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry and with his church.

Among the distinctions he earned was Citizen of the Year for the American Legion. He held the highest honor of all within the Jaycees - he was named a JCI senator. He also received the North Central Outstanding Alumni award.

In his later years, as health problems arose, he never missed a meeting or showed up without a smile on his face, fellow Jaycees said.

"As sick as he was, he would be on a dialysis machine during the day and at Jaycees meetings at night," longtime friend Al DeGeeter said.

"It was such a struggle for him to get to the meeting room, and it caused him pain. But when he walked in the room, he would get the biggest smile on his face because he was with his fellow Jaycees. He just loved the chapter. That was his life."

This year's exhausted roosters - the name they give retired Jaycee members - will have one less person to keep people laughing in the beer tent, where they congregate each year during Last Fling to serve drinks.

But they plan to keep a framed picture of Bueche out and have renamed the tent "Bueche's Garden."

"He meant so much to us, and we're truly going to miss him," DeGeeter said.

Chuck never really understood why so many people clapped for him at the start of each meeting, Audrey said. But it made him happy.

"It made him feel really proud," she said. "He would be so humble. He would say 'How come (you're clapping for me). There's so many others who do so much, too.'"

With this year's Last Fling, when planners sat down to organize the fest, they kept all of the principles Bueche cherished in mind.

"What we didn't realize was that Chuck would pass away throughout this year," Byrne said. "It's unfortunate, but it's also a great honor to be able to dedicate this year and this event to Chuck."