Lewis F. "Lew" Van Buskirk

Lewis Franklin “Lew” Van Buskirk took his final rest on 4 March 2016. Lew was born August 13, 1937 to Harold and Wanetta Van Buskirk in Stockton, CA.
He was an Eagle Scout with 3 Palms, Patriot Leader in the ‘49er Council, an instructor in Archery and Swimming, Junior Marksman and Range Master. He was active in DeMolay and achieved their highest honor with the degree of Chevalier. He swam competitively in high school and was a member of two championship teams. He attended San Francisco State University studying Finance and Business Administration and was active in both student affairs and athletics. He was the treasurer of the Student Counsel, a member of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and a member of the Swimming and Water Polo teams. He graduated with honors in Business Administration in 1960. Lew was married to Barbara Jean “Penny” Deicke on 23 August 1959 and they had 3 daughters.
After a short stint with the McCormack Schilling company in San Francisco, Lew joined his parents in the family Retail Nursery business in Stockton, California. On his father’s passing, Lew became President and CEO of Van’s Greenbriar Garden Centers. Known as the “Galloping Gardner” on his weekly radio show he eventually grew the business from their small shop on Country Club Blvd, to (3) retail outlets with (2) locations in Stockton and (1) in Brentwood, California. Van’s Greenbriar was known for their high quality trees, shrubs, and flowers and was loved by avid gardeners and landscapers throughout the region during their 35 years of operation. Each year during the Holiday Season, the Nursery was transformed into a Christmas wonderland with dozens of fully decorated trees and patrons would visit to immerse themselves in the festive offerings of ornaments, colorful lights, collectibles and the highest quality cut Christmas Trees from Oregon.
Lew was active within the nursery industry and in the Stockton community. He was a California Certified Nurseryman, was voted Young Nurseryman of the Year in 1971, is a past President of both the California Association of Nurserymen and the Master Nurserymen’s Association. In Stockton, Lew was a Mason and past Master of the Morningstar Lodge, was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club, President of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce and was voted Small Business Person of the Year in 1986. A lifelong hostage to the game of golf, Lew was an avid golfer and member of the Woodbridge (CA) Golf and Country Club for 40 years. Lew loved playing tournament dominoes and was a champion of the Yosemite Club of Stockton. He passed the game on to many, most importantly to his grandchildren. Lew and Penny moved to Mansfield, Texas in 2012 where Lew joined the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield and was a member of the Board of Directors.
Lew is survived by his wife of 56 years Penny, his daughters Jeanne Van Shuff and her husband Steven of Walnut Creek, California, Pamela Rodrigues and her husband Donald of Mansfield, Texas, Laurie Van Buskirk of Concord, California; his sister Sandy Lornson and her husband Roger of Arnold, California; his grandchildren Capt. (USAF) Alicia Pallett and her husband Nick, WO1 (USA) Alexander Rodrigues and his wife Savannah, Carissa Moore and her husband George, Caitlynn Shuff, and Andrew Rodrigues; and his great grandson Scott Pallett.
Services will be held on Saturday, March 12th at 10:00 am at First United Methodist Church of Mansfield. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in the name of Lew Van Buskirk to the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield Foundation which benefits local Mansfield high school students through scholarships. Donations may be mailed to: Mansfield Kiwanis, P.O. Box 25, Mansfield, TX 76063.