Steve was gifted. He helped us with homework and with our college entrance essays. Solving a math problem and memorizing history dates was his forte. He and his girlfriend were popular and were voted Best Dressed in senior year. Steve was also president of VSC (Voluntary Service Club)and organized many car washes for several causes. He had a red Mustang and would offer you a ride to do the beach Big Top scene. We had a lot of fun. After graduation, I went off to college and lost touch. I reunited with Steve in 2007. Shortly after which Steve moved to Spain with his wife, Sonia. We kept in touch via Facebook. He led a wonderfull life in Spain. Steve had just successfully reinvented himself and was working towards great things. I was shocked to hear from Sonia that he had past away unexpectingly. They say that God takes the good ones first.

Stephen Albert Budner, Jr. January 16, 1953 – September 14, 2021 For as long as I can remember my brother was always building things. The shelves of his childhood bedroom were filled with the plastic models of cars and planes he assembled. He spent hours in the cottage on our property we called the “Train House” building model train layouts for his Lionel and H.O. trains. When my daughter was born, he built a multi-story Victorian doll house for her, now enjoyed by my granddaughter. After graduating from Goddard College in Vermont he studied and worked with the Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri at his Arcosanti project in central Arizona--creating an urban ecology in the high desert. The two molten bronze bells cast on site there installed by my back door remind me of his passion for that project. While completing a dual degree in Architecture & Urban Design at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY he competed in a design competition for the upcoming renewal of the Brooklyn Waterfront. The huge model was housed in one whole bay of the garage. How he got it in to Pratt I cannot remember! I do remember that received a Certificate of Excellence Award for that project. After graduating, he worked for architectural firms in Fairfield County and NYC, lending his design/build talents to both residential and commercial projects. In 2008 he weathered a protracted sabbatical driven largely by the Great Recession that followed the financial crisis which resulted in long-lasting unemployment for so many. And at the end of that year came the deep grief at the loss of our mother with whom he was especially close. But the chance to renew and rebuild followed before too long when he met his soulmate. A beautiful, wonderfully creative artist from Spain, Sonia. They married in Weston in 2013 and moved to Spain shortly thereafter. Found a great black cat they named Max. There on the Mediterranean, just south of Barcelona he continued to build. Handcrafting pergolas for their terrace, creating a rooftop plantscape he named “Sky Court." Building furniture for their apartment. His time in this place of peace and beauty with the love of his life was cut way too short with his sudden and unexpected death. I’d like to think that he’s listening to “Last Train Home," by Pat Metheny, building something beautiful, planting something green and bright in another place and time. Happy and at peace. Pamela Budner August 23, 2022