Eric Stephen Buhayar

Eric Stephen Buhayar died on July 1. He was 101.

Eric was born in Rome, Italy. An only child, he was reared partly in England and partly in Greece. He attended Athens College, a British secondary school in Athens, then earned a degree in electrical engineering from University College of the University of London.

English was his first language, but he became proficient in Greek and served in the British Army in Greece during World War II, carrying out covert missions with Greek Resistance fighters against the occupying German forces.

He met his future wife, Ero Nicolaidou, during the war. When it ended, he headed to South Africa, where he put his engineering skills to use. Ero arrived in South Africa by freighter two years later, after two years of undergraduate and graduate studies on scholarship in the United States. They were married that afternoon! They lived in South Africa, where their son, Alex, was born, for some years. They then moved to Montreal, Canada, where their daughter, Philippa, was born. After a year or so, they immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Swarthmore.

Eric worked for the Scott Paper Company as an engineer until his retirement. He invented many machines and loved what he did every day. He designed and built furniture, and was an avid tennis player and traveler. He also designed a vacation home in the Greek Peloponnese where he and Ero spent many summers.

When Eric and Ero moved to Kendal at Longwood, he took up residence in the wood shop, where he fixed everything from toasters to clocks to scooters.

Eric was predeceased by his wife of 69 years. He is survived by his children, Alex Buhayar and Philippa Anderson, and a bevy of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Services and interment will be private.