Charline, Huber Buehrer [1930, 1927 - 2014] Area architect, wife called ‘a good team’

8/13/2014

Huber H. Buehrer

Huber H. Buehrer, 87, a nationally known Maumee architect and energy expert, died days after his wife, Charline, succumbed to injuries suffered in a car accident.

Mr. Buehrer and his wife, 84, were in a two-car crash on Thursday on the Anthony Wayne Trail at Monclova Road. Mrs. Buehrer died immediately. Mr. Buehrer never regained consciousness and died Sunday in the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital, his son Kent said.

Mr. Buehrer met his wife, the former Charline Miller, at Toledo Beach during a church outing, his son said. “She threw some sand at him to gain his attention,” and they married a few years later on Jan. 31, 1958.

Mr. Buehrer built and operated two architectural firms. He and partner Robert Stough were in business together 31 years. For 20 years Buehrer & Stough Architects & Engineers was on Sylvania Avenue near Talmadge Road. In 1984, he started another business in Maumee, Buehrer Group Architecture & Engineering Inc.

“What my father got known for was designing schools and churches in the ’50s and ’60s, and clients were starting to ask him how much should we plan for to operate this business in terms of energy use,” said his son Kent, who is now the president of Buehrer Group.

Mr. Buehrer created a process to estimate energy use in the late 1960s, and when the energy crisis hit the United States in the ’70s, “he traveled around the country giving workshops on how to use his concept,” his son said.

Mr. Buehrer was born in the Stryker, Ohio, area to Harry and Meta Buehrer, who was one of the oldest Ohio residents when she died at age 109 in 2006.

After serving in the Navy, he graduated in 1951 from Ohio State University with a degree in architecture.

He was president of the Architects Society of Ohio, the Toledo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and the Jaycees’ Toledo and Ohio chapters. He was inducted into the Wauseon High School Academic Hall of Fame and in 2001 he was recognized by Ohio State as a distinguished alumnus in the college of engineering. In 2003, he was named a Hometown Hero by the city of Maumee.

“My parents made a good team. He could not have done all he did without the support of his wife,” his son said.

Mrs. Buehrer was born in Toledo to Harold and Alma Miller. Mr. Miller was a lawyer and a state representative from Toledo. Mrs. Buehrer graduated from Libbey High and attended Ohio State, the University of Toledo, and Mary Manse College.

They were both longtime members of St. Paul’‍s Lutheran Church in Maumee.

Surviving are sons, Scott, Kent, Brent, Brett, and Trent; daughter, Cynthia Smith, and 11 grandchildren.

Visitation is 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday in Coyle Funeral Home. Services are 10 a.m. Friday at St. Paul’s. The family suggests tributes to the church or the Rotary Club of Maumee foundation.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.