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Public invited to celebrate the life of Gary ‘Buzz’ Busby at Beaver Creek

Busby was a fixture on the Beaver Creek Village scene for many decades

If you’ve been to the Coyote Café in the past 20 or so years, you knew Buzz.

Gary “Buzz” Busby was the general manager at the landmark Beaver Creek eatery and après ski spot for 18 years after being a part of the Beaver Creek Resort community at The Golden Eagle Inn restaurant and Bouquets flower shop in Beaver Creek Village.

A gathering to celebrate the life of Gary “Buzz” Busby will be held this Saturday at the Beaver Creek Ice Rink at 11 a.m.
Pastor Ethan Moore/Courtesy photo

“I remember he came in one day and I needed some help at the restaurant, and he said, ‘How can I help?’ and he was here for almost two decades,” said Jeff Forbes, owner of the Coyote Café.

Busby passed away on March 7, 2022. He was not only a cherished friend to many, but also a devoted brother who took care of Jerry Wayne Busby, also known as J.W. or J-Dub, who was also a fixture on the Beaver Creek Resort scene since the 1980s, after J.W. suffered a head-on car accident in June of 2021.

It was after that accident, and after J.W. got to come back home in August, that Rev. Ethan Moore, pastor at Trinity Church of the Vail Valley, got to know Buzz.

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“Over the months that I got to know Buzz, I realized just how many people knew him, how people spoke so highly of him. I learned how he had been a positive influence and was just loved by so many different people in different contexts,” Moore said.

Some of those positive influences you may have noticed throughout the years were the yard signs Busby would make and place in random areas with messages of encouragement. Quotes like “You are not alone” and “Don’t give up” could be seen across Eagle County as an anonymous way Busby tried to support people, even perfect strangers.

Signs of encouragement that Busby had made would pop up in random locations throughout the Vail Valley.
Buzz Busby’s Facebook page

This Saturday, Moore will lead a service celebrating Busby’s life at the Beaver Creek Ice Rink at 11 a.m. The Coyote Café will host a light reception.

“I think the Coyote was mainly his life for so many years,” recalls Forbes.

“Most people thought he was the owner, honestly, which was OK with me. I liked the way that he treated the place like an owner would treat the place. He took a lot of pride and care in his work,” Forbes said.

Forbes recalled many of the influences and ideas that were Busby’s that shaped the Coyote Café. From the “Car-aoke” karaoke in a cutout VW Bug, to the Bill Clinton mannequin in a whitewater kayak, to staying up all night repainting the restaurant to menu ideas like the Coyote’s signature salsa and Buzz’s Pulled Pork Sandwich on the menu.

“Buzz’s brain was always going. He was always thinking of something. Sometimes he’d run the ideas by me, sometimes he wouldn’t,” joked Forbes.

Parking is free but limited at Beaver Creek Village. Parking lots below are free and the buses will be providing transportation between the lots and Beaver Creek Village.

“We just wanted to provide a place to gather and celebrate Buzz’s life,” Forbes said.

“He was just a kind, giving, amazing human being,” added Moore.


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