Obituary of Terry Lee Buchanan

Terry Lee Buchanan passed from this life on January 16th, 2023 at his home in Mesa, Arizona at the age of 76.

He was born in Apollo, Pennsylvania on September 7th, 1946 to Loyal Cyrus Buchanan and Laberna Twila Engel Buchanan. The family moved to Mesa in 1950. Terry graduated in 1964 from Mesa High School, where he was a member of the baseball team.

Following his education, Terry began working for the City of Mesa Maintenance department as a truck-trailer driver. In the late 1970’s he owned and operated a landscaping business, AAA Lawn Service, for a few years. In 1982, he moved to Lakeside, California and worked as lead groundskeeper at El Capitan High School. After his retirement in 2005, he returned to Mesa.

Terry had a wide variety of hobbies, including raising racing pigeons, watching car racing, woodworking, gardening, and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also an expert bowler, with a high score of 298. However, his absolute favorite way to spend his time was watching his grandkids do BMX bike races, taekwondo tournaments, ball games, theater, and more.

He is survived by his wife, Pauline, and his children, Terry J. Buchanan (Monica) of St. George, Utah, Tami L. Buchanan-Wake (Charlie) of San Tan Valley, AZ, and Tara J. Ross of Mesa, AZ; also step-daughters Rhonda Dulay (Paul) and Malinda Sarmiento. He leaves 14 grandchildren: Braxton Hafen, Jordan Hafen, Trever Souza, Anthony Sarmiento, Jessica Westphal, Taylor Trussell, Andre Sarmiento, Tristin Pratt, Tyson Buchanan, Alexis Consalvo, Devin Dulay, Jaclyn Dulay, Jeremy Wake and Nathaniel Ross. There are also 15 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; all six of his siblings - Betty J. Stottlemyer, Sara M. “Sally” Hill, Dorothy L. “Dot” Heffernan, Robert L. Buchanan, Mary E. Burnes and Harvey “Fred” Buchanan; and step-daughter Tonya Kniss.

He will be interned at a later date in a private ceremony at the Mesa Cemetery in Mesa, AZ.