- Date Of Birth: August 5, 1987
- Date Of Death: April 16, 2021
- State: Indiana
Mr. Coty L. “Lee” Buelna, 33, of Elkhart, passed away Friday, April 16, 2021 at 5:15 pm at Indiana University Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis following a brief but courageous battle with COVID-19. He was born in Elkhart on August 5, 1987 to Frank Buelna and Tammy (Wirick) Lemak, both of Elkhart. On August 23, 2008, he married Lisa A. Barber in Elkhart. She survives Coty at home.
Also surviving Coty are his children Markus, Quinton, Jade and Lydia Buelna, all at home; brothers Colton Buelna of Goshen and Matt Lemak of Elkhart; sister Tiffany Lemak of Mishawaka; grandparents Michael & Judy Spratt of Elkhart; grandmother Linda Lovely of Elkhart, his dogs Bunny and Castiel, and a loving host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, buddies and work colleagues.
Coty graduated in 2006 from Concord High School in Elkhart and went on to work at North American Forest Products in Edwardsburg, where he worked in maintenance. Coty was still employed there at the time of his passing and leaves behind many good friends and co-workers there.
But when he wasn’t working, Coty’s number one activity was planning something with his kids. He was the consummate dad — loving, proud and supportive of everything his children did and always enjoyed doing things that had the kids involved. He was an avid fisherman, and he absolutely loved to spend time wetting his line with his children. Another favorite “kid-friendly” (kind of) activity was his annual fireworks display every Fourth of July. Coty loved anything and everything that went “boom”, and the bigger and louder the better.
The kids would giggle and shout with glee as Coty would light off everything from roman candles to smoke bombs. Other times, they’d all pile into the car and head out to the Potawatomi Zoo, the Elkhart County Fair or the Niles Haunted House (which was rumored to be Coty’s favorite). He was also an avid Harry Potter enthusiast, and he relished being able to immerse his children into the Hogwarts culture and the happenings within the House of Gryffindor.
Coty was also a devout motorcyclist, a die-hard Notre Dame fan, a huge Second Amendment supporter (“Molon Labe”, brother) and the best darn handyman within a hundred miles, thanks to watching his Papa Mike over the years fix all types of things that folks “thought” were broken. Coty was an expert when he had a tool in his hand, and he loved having the ability to make things work. He also had a Ford Mustang that he was very proud of and was an avid animal lover.
To honor Coty’s simple lifestyle and his working man’s heritage, the family has asked that everyone wear casual, comfortable clothes.
