Lt. Col. (Ret) William Collins Buell V

Lieutenant Colonel William Collins Buell V, USA, Ret., was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio on January 1, 1934 to William Collins Buell, IV and Ruth Evelyn Stonebrook. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1952 as a Private. In 1954, he attended, through a competitive appointment, the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. Upon graduation, he received a Congressional appointment and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1955. He graduated in 1959 as a Second Lieutenant and that summer married Susan Jane Davies, with whom he had three children. They were divorced in 1972. His military career spanned 29 years, during which he served tours stateside and in many foreign locations including Korea, two tours in Vietnam, the Panama Canal Zone and the Dominican Republic. As Military Attaché to the Dominican Republic he oversaw the disaster relief operations when Hurricane David passed over Santo Domingo in September of 1979. During his military career he received numerous awards, including, two Purple Heart medals, the Legion of Merit (OLC), the Bronze Star (OLC), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal (OLC). While stationed at the canal Zone in Panama, he met Louella Higginson, a Department of the Army civilian, and in 1979, they were married. In 1982, he began the second stage of his career, and spent the next 15 years at Antonian College Preparatory High School in San Antonio, TX. He served as Dean of Faculty & Instruction, Vice Principal,Tennis coach and Spanish, Latin and Russian instructor. He had high expectations of academic excellence and in 1995 three of his Latin students at Antonian had perfect scores on the National Latin Test. His side-kick at Antonian was Simon the black & white cat, who often sat in his desk in-box or roamed the classroom during lectures. From 1998-2005 he taught high school Latin and Spanish to home school students. He was an avid tennis player, playing weekly for over three decades with a talented local group, enjoying the exercise and the camaraderie of his fellow players. He loved languages, and excelled with varying degrees of fluency in Spanish, Russian, German, French, Romanian and Vietnamese. He was a student of historical linguistics, specializing in the Indo-European language family and pursued studies in Latin, Greek, Anglo-Saxon, as well as various other Indo-European tongues. He was a disciplined genealogist for over 40 years and a member of numerous Heritage Societies. He served as Registrar General of the National Huguenot Society from 2017 to 2023. He was a member of numerous fraternal and professional organizations and is enrolled in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor at Vails Gate, NY. Bill was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Louella Higginson. He is survived by his three children, Johanna Slatton-Buell, William Collins Buell VI, Sara Sanders-Buell; two brothers, John Fishbaugh and Franklin Fishbaugh, two sisters, Dawn Buell Fox and Penelope Buell Pierce; and six grandchildren. He was a very special person with a witty sense of humor and a deep sense of honor, loyalty, duty, respect, service, integrity and fairness for all. He will be sorely missed and long remembered by those who loved and cherished him. There will be a gravesite service with military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Sunset Memorial Park & Funeral Home can be contacted for details. In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to your favorite charity.