By Brian Bowling
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
SOUTHWEST GREENSBURG, Pa. — Bud Long played the drums and worked as an electrician. But serving as a volunteer firefighter probably was the activity he loved the most, said his wife of 59 years.
“It was just something that he enjoyed doing,” Gloria Long said. “That fire whistle would go, he would jump into his bunker suit and away he went.”
Mr. Long was a life member of the Southwest Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department, and he was a firefighter for the department for about four decades and served as an assistant fire chief for several years, she said.
“He was a dedicated fireman,” she said.
What he loved the most was being at home with his wife, said his daughter Robin Hlebechuk of Hempfield.
“She was his everything. She was his world,” Hlebechuk said.
Clyde R. “Bud” Long of Southwest Greensburg died Monday, May 15, 2017. He was 84.
Born June 11, 1932, in Greensburg, he was the son of the late Clarence E. and Gladys E. Long.
He started playing drums in high school and had his own band, Gloria Long said. While the band dissolved after he graduated in 1950 from Greensburg High School, he played in other bands in area clubs for several years.
He was playing a gig at Charlie’s Danceland in Avonmore when they met in 1957. The couple married a year later, she said.
Mr. Long worked at Teledyne Surface Chemicals on Forbes Road for 25 years and then West Penn Power for 18 years before retiring.
He was a member and usher at Blessed Sacramental Cathedral, Greensburg, and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Council No. 1480, Fourth Degree.
Although he stopped playing gigs after the birth of his first daughter, Mr. Long was a member of the Greensburg Musical Society, Local No. 339. He volunteered for several years with Mutual Aid Ambulance Service.
Mr. Long enjoyed hunting with his son-in-law and his grandson, his wife said. He was an enthusiastic pheasant hunter and also hunted turkey, deer and small game.
He also enjoyed running with his oldest daughter, Kim Palmiscno of Greensburg, and his buddies from the fire department.
A perfectionist and hard worker, Mr. Long was a reserved person who was loyal to family and friends but not shy about telling them when he thought they were wrong, Gloria Long said.
“If you did something wrong, you knew it,” Hlebechuk agreed.
On the other hand, one of her childhood memories involves her accidentally running her bicycle into a new pickup truck while she was trying to perform stunts.
Mortified, she threw her bike down and ran home crying.
“He didn’t get mad at me or anything,” she said. “He took me by the hand and walked me back so I could tell them that I did it and I was sorry.”
Her father then wrote a check for the damages.
“He would do anything in the world for us,” his daughter said.
Mr. Long is survived by his wife, Gloria Long; two daughters, Kim Palmiscno, and Robin Hlebechuk; and a grandson.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Leo M. Bacha Funeral Home Inc., 516 Stanton St., Greensburg.
Prayers will begin at 9 a.m. Friday in the funeral home, followed by a funeral Mass to be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, 300 N. Main St., Greensburg. Interment will follow in Greensburg Catholic Cemetery.
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