C. Severin Buschmann, Jr.

Charles Severin Buschmann, Jr.

“The Buschmann family are like rabbits. They are all over the place”, according to Charles Severin Buschmann. Severin, age 97, of Indianapolis, IN passed away on August 21, 2019. He was born on August 28, 1921 the oldest of three children born to parents, Charles Severin and Dorothy Ford Buschmann. Severin’s father believed the children should have a continental education, and as a result, Severin spent four years in France and one year in Germany attending schools taught in their respective native languages. While there, his hearing was tested and it revealed that at the age of 12 or 13, he was deaf. As Severin jokes, “It was determined that I was deaf in both French and German.” After returning to Indianapolis, he attended Shortridge High School and Park School, from which he graduated from in 1939. Years later, he served on the Board of Directors of Park School that approved the plan to move to the Lilly Orchard.

After finishing high school, Severin enrolled at the University of Colorado in Boulder. One reason he went there was to utilize the University’s Allergy Clinic to determine if his deafness was allergy related. After a year in Boulder, he transferred to Indiana University in Bloomington. Although he majored in Economics, he had literary interests. While at Shortridge, he had written for the school’s newspaper and at IU he wrote for the Indiana Daily Student. The country was at war and Severin who was not medically fit to serve in the military, dropped out of school to do defense work at Allison Division of General Motors Company in Indianapolis. He felt he had to do something. His mother was in charge of the Service Men’s Center in the state. His father had been recalled by the Army and his sister was serving in our OSS, the forerunner of today’s CIA. He returned to IU and graduated in 1944. While at IU, he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University, Severin went to Los Angeles and enrolled at the University of Southern California School of Law. After receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree, despite the challenges presented by his hearing, he returned to Indiana, passed the bar examination, and joined his father’s law firm. Recognizing that his hearing disability limited his options, he decided to specialize in tax law. As he put it, “The clients of tax lawyers are other lawyers.” He returned to Bloomington and spent a semester concentrating on tax courses.

Severin said that his life had been one lucky break after another. While visiting in Washington he learned that a law clerk position came open at the Tax Court. He applied and was appointed Law Clerk to the Honorable John W. Kern, Chief Judge of the Tax Court of the United States of America. (Judge Kern had been mayor of Indianapolis). In 1950, he married a friend of his sister from Bryn Mawr College, Alice Clemencia Noble, in Connecticut. Their marriage produced a daughter and four sons.

Once again, he returned to his father’s law firm but very shortly thereafter he was asked to help reactivate the Indiana Bar Association. He did this for approximately a year and a half during which time the membership rose to approximately 95 percent of the state’s lawyers. He helped start a monthly Bar Association Magazine and wrote its tax column. He remained active in the state and national Bar Associations. For the Indiana State Bar Association, he was Director of the Young Lawyers Division, Member of the Taxation Section and Indiana State delegate to the American Bar Association and member of the nominating committee.

Severin has been honored by selection to the American College of Tax Counsel. He also served as a Commissioner on Uniform State Laws and was appointed by President Reagan as a member of the Advisory Council to the Commissioner of Internal Center and is an honorary life member of its Board of Directors. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Hearing Society (now defunct). In addition, he served as President of the Estate Planning Council of Indianapolis.

After Severin’s wife, Alice passed away in 1981, he retired from his law firm and moved to San Luis Obispo, California, where he enjoyed playing golf and the good weather. He lived there for nearly ten years before moving to live with his son, Michael, on a small farm outside of New Castle, IN. He then moved into an apartment complex in New Castle, where he met Mary Lee Edwards Pfenninger in the laundromat in February 1992. They began dating and in August 1992, they were married. Together they indulged their mutual enjoyment of travel and sailed to exotic lands.

His friends and family will remember his irrepressible joyfulness and curiosity about the world. He is survived by his children, Susan Curry (David), Nick Buschmann (Denise), Jim Buschmann (Carolyn); grandchildren, Nicholas S. Buschmann, Olivia Jones, Betsy Simms (Greg), Timothy Curry (Elyse), Emma Buschmann of Ft. Collins, Colorado and Lily Buschmann of Portland, Oregon; step-children, Fred (Charlene) Pfenninger of Indianapolis and Steve (Lisa) Pfenninger of New Castle, Indiana; step-grandchildren, Lauren Dragoni (David) of Powell, Ohio, Jan Estelle (Joshua) of New Castle, Indiana, Ryan Pfenninger of Indianapolis and Jeffrey Pfenninger of Indianapolis.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Alice Clemencia Noble; second wife, Mary Lee Edwards Pfenninger; sons, Michael Severin Buschmann and Peter Noble Buschmann; sister, Joan (Jody) Hicks; brother, George M. Buschmann; and grandson, Ian Buschmann.

Funeral services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, 9192 Waldemar Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268.