Francis "Herb" C. Budinger

Francis "Herb" Wilber Confer Budinger, 88, of Lock Haven, passed peacefully into the afterworld and the waiting embrace of his beloved wife, Jane on December 23, 2022.
Born August 27, 1934 in Phillipsburg, Herb was the son of the late Philip M. Budinger and Myra Watson Budinger, both of Snow Shoe.
He was a proud member of the last class to graduate from Snow Shoe High School in 1952.
He served as a mechanic in the US Army for two years. Herb was to be discharged on March 21, 1958 but was detained 3 days for the "Convenience of the Government" making his discharge date March 24, 1958, the same day Elvis reported for duty making it very possible, as he often claimed, that Elvis was his replacement.
After the Army, Herb enlightened on what he called the wanderlust of his youth and his time as a beatnik. He attended Mansfield State Teachers College before leaving to travel west to join his brothers, study at Fort Lewis A&M College, and carouse the streets of Tucson.
In 1960, he sustained an injury to the vitreous humor of his eye when a piece of glass pierced his right eye from a thrown bottle that broke on the door frame above his head as he was retrieving his glasses in the aftermath of a skirmish with some bar patrons. The story was often a source of pride and bragged about by his children who loved to tell how "My dad lost his eye in a barfight." In an email address to his children and grandchildren in 2011, he reflected on the outcome of the event. "All of you this day is almost as important as your birthday. Friday, April 29th. It will be fifty-one years that I lost my eye. If that hadn't happened none of you would have been here today. I was going to Alaska when the semester was over. Every year I think of how great my life turned out and how blessed I am."
On Sept. 21, 1962, he eloped to Maryland with the love of his life, Jane Jones Budinger with whom he raised five children and shared 54 years of happiness before she preceded him in death. All that met him and those that knew him quickly learned and realized his family was at the heart of who he was. It was a shared belief with his wife, Jane, that their children's friends, nephews, nieces, and neighborhood kids were always welcome into their home and treated as one of their own.
Retired from the Clinton County Waste Authority in 2000, he also previously worked at the former Hammermill Paper Company.
A passionate fan and season ticket holder for many years, he loved Penn State Football and enjoyed attending games with his wife and family members.
An avid hunter and sometimes sportsman, he felt an affinity for the Nittany and Bald Eagle Valley but never lost his love of the western states. He enjoyed watching, reading, and learning about the old west.
He is survived by a brother Philip Budinger of Tucson, Arizona; two sons, Ron Shearer (Denise) and Lance Budinger (Shelly), both of Lock Haven; two daughters, Lori Budinger-Burke of Pittsburgh and Lesley Budinger of Lock Haven; nine grandchildren: Sarah Budinger, Brian Burke, Lance Burke, Hana Gilbert, Timothy Shearer, Carrie Stover Rich, Craig Stover, Ethan Hershey, and Josh Fravel; and four great-grandchildren: Caleb Stover, Curtis Stover, Gage Young, and Garret Stover; one great-great-grandchild, Leo Stover.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by four brothers: Charles, Gene, Karl and Tom; one sister, Sarah Roulston Peterson; one daughter, Kelli Shearer, one grandson, Jacob Shearer; and one granddaughter, Nichole Fravel.
To allow for out-of-town families to attend, interment will be held in the Spring, on April 29, 2023, at Dunnstown Cemetery with a memorial service and reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be sent to the Donald Walker Funeral Home, Inc., 231 High St., Flemington, PA 17745 to assist with the funeral expenses.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Francis "Herb" C. Budinger, please visit our floral store.