Obituary of Joseph P. Buyniski

With a grin on his face and a spring in his step Joseph Paul Buyniski began his next adventure on December 11, 2024 after passing away at the age of 83.  Joe battled Alzheimer’s the last few years of his life but no matter what the wicked disease took from him it never took his grace and kindness towards others, a true testament to his character. 

Born July 18, 1941, into a hard-working Polish family in Worcester, MA the Buyniskis were in the pharmacy business as Joe’s father and grandfather founded the Vernon Drug chain of pharmacies throughout the Worcester area.  Joe would often proudly recant his various jobs in the stores as a young lad whether it be minding the leech tanks, polishing the medicine bottles or working the soda fountain.

Joe graduated from Assumption Prep High School in 1958 and then headed west to the University of Cincinnati where he watched the Bearcats led by Oscar Robertson win back-to-back NCAA national championships in basketball before earning a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree.  Joe then continued on to earn two doctoral degrees there before joining the Bowman Gray School of Medicine staff at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC as a Professor of Physiology.  Joe was then recruited by Bristol Myers-Squibb and began a 30-year career in their Syracuse, NY and Wallingford, CT offices where he held Director positions in the Cardiovascular and Infectious Disease Research departments. 

In his retirement beginning in 1998 Joe and Sofie Buyniski enjoyed spending their time in Colchester, CT on Pickerel Lake, Narragansett, RI and the Villages, FL.  Joe was an avid tennis player and staunch supporter of animal rights, civil rights and the homeless.    

Joe was pre-deceased by his father and mother Julius and Wanda (Wasiak) Buyniski, sister Patricia Buyniski, brother Richard Buyniski and stepson Seamus Oatis. 

Joe is survived by his son Alex Buyniski and his wife Laurie of Colchester, his daughter Larissa Dumais of Charlestown, RI whom he shared the precious father-daughter bond with and will always be his little ballerina, his grandkids who were his ultimate pride and joy – Benjamin, Brayden, Hannah and Kayla Buyinski.  Nothing made Joe happier than walking the fields at the Colchester RecPlex watching his grandkids engaged in competition often on multiple diamonds and fields at the same time.  Joe is also survived by his brother Robert Buyniski and his wife Patty of Worcester, MA; his former wife Sofie Buyniski, his stepson Derek Oatis and his wife Lisa Zalaski, all of Glastonbury, his step daughter-in-law Heather Oatis and her daughters Lydia and Gracelyn of Tolland, CT, along with two nieces and a nephew and their families.

Special heartfelt thanks to the entire staff at The Residence of Glastonbury especially Rashawnda Malone who through thick and thin and the ever-changing struggles of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s never looked at Joe any differently nor wavered from the utmost care and compassion.   

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 3:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society East in the Meeting House, 153 Vernon St. W., Manchester. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.  Calling hours will also be on Saturday, December 21, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury. For online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.