Walter “Bud” Wisneiski marks 100 years of positive living
by Wendy Turrell
On April 24, Walter “Bud” Wisneiski celebrated his 100th birthday with the same attitude of gratitude and enjoyment that have been his trademark throughout a long life. In reply to “Happy Birthday and congratulations on reaching 100 years,” Wisneiski cheerfully replied, “I’m starting on my second 100!”
He added, “Physically I don’t feel any different than I did yesterday, the day before, or the day before that. I am happy to have arrived at 100. I’ve had a great, enjoyable life. I’m really appreciative of all of it, the bumps in the road and the high spots.”
Wisneiski was eagerly anticipating the following day, when nearly all of Richfield would turn out in a parade past his house to honor him. A total of 78 cars, a bicycle or two, and the Richfield Police and Fire Departments honored this longtime Richfield resident, who has given a lifetime of community service.
Wisneiski served in the Army Air Corps in World War II – not as a pilot, but as a meteorologist, then called an “aerologist.” He gathered weather information from the North Atlantic to guide the delivery of fighter planes from the U.S. through Newfoundland, Iceland, Greenland or Scotland to London and France; and to gather data for European maps that would aid Allied troupe deployment, including the famous D-Day Landing in Normandy.
When Wisneiski was discharged from the service in 1946, he and his wife Mildred had two children. He began his career as a teacher at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, where eventually he would become principal. They settled in with her parents in a household that included Mildred’s brother Elmer, who was married to Wisneiski’s sister, their child, and his mother-in-law’s mother.
“We out-populated that house,” he recalled with a laugh. He took the $2,000 he got from his army discharge, and the young couple briefly rented a house in Brecksville, before buying an old farmhouse in Richfield for the princely sum of $9,900. The Wisneiski’s continued to live in Richfield, with a lively family that ultimately included six children, and a seventh lost tragically soon after birth.
Wisneiski’s two daughters, Jane in Denver and Ellen in New York state, had tickets to join their father for his momentous celebration but, “I asked them to stay home, with the danger of flying with the Coronavirus outbreak,” Wisneiski said.
Son Doug from San Diego is staying with his father. “I haven’t been out of my house for 17 weeks at this point, and having my son here has been a lifesaver,” the centenarian said.
Completing the Wisneiski family are oldest son Phil, who lives in Naples, Florida; second oldest son Jeff, a doctor who lives in Pepper Pike; and son Jack, who lives in Denver. Wisneiski is also grandfather to five. A sixth grandchild is deceased.
Wisneiski’s birthday parade began from the parking lot of his longtime church, the Richfield Church of Christ, where he assumed many leadership roles over the years. These have included moderator, which in UCC parlance is the lay leader, and Chair of the Stewardship and Administrative Board.
Wisneiski’s legacy of service includes being a Bath-Richfield Kiwanis Club “President of Distinction”, and starting the Richfield youth baseball team, back when he had to borrow equipment from the Akron Athletic Association.
Wisneiski used to be an avid golfer, but he gave it up at age 95, “When I couldn’t hit a fairway shot more than 75 yards.” Eighteen years ago, Wisneiski was instrumental in starting the annual Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bud Wisnieski Alumni Golf Outing at St. Bernard Golf Club on Streetsboro Road, where Wisneiski’s home abuts the 15th green. He is quick to give credit to others, insisting BBVH alum Bob Miller, whom Wisneiski taught in high school, did the hard work to start the tournament.
In 2008, Wisneiski needed to have a Peg tube placed in his abdomen, through which he has taken all liquids, medications and nourishment ever since. A gregarious man, even this hasn’t slowed down his delight in going out for dinner with friends. He jokes, “The rest of them can’t talk with their mouths full, so I have a captive audience!”
Although Wisneiski’s father’s family lived well into their late 80s and 90s, he is the first to reach 100. He attributes it to “good luck and good living”. By the time he got out of the service, he had developed duodenal ulcers. The doctor told him to give up smoking and drinking caffeine, which he promptly did. The other factors to which Wisneiski attributes long life are a reflection of his positive outlook:
1. “Don’t hold grudges. Be able to forgive. It takes a lot of pressure off you.”
2. “Be grateful.” Wisneiski quotes the 1960s inspirational speaker Zig Ziglar with a saying he lives by: “Be grateful for what you have. Don’t complain. It bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems.”
3. “Be curious. It gives you a zest for life.” Wisneiski’s zest for life continues, amidst Coronavirus or reduced circumstances. He concluded, “I enjoy life, even though now my day consists of getting up, feeding myself, putting on compression hose—my isometric exercise for the day! I sit in my chair and think. I have difficulty with my eyes, so I can’t read much, but I answer my emails. I usually have a lot of visits from friends, which makes the time pass so quickly. We enjoy each other’s company.”
Feature image photo caption: Bud Wisnieski
