Roderick Dale Budd

Roderick Dale Budd, 76, of Delaware, Ohio, passed away peacefully on March 10, 2026, at home surrounded by his family.

Born on April 1, 1949, at home in Center Village, Ohio, to Ted and Laura (Love) Budd, Rick lived a life centered on family, hard work, and simple joys. He worked as a cook and potato chip delivery driver before retiring from Olentangy Local Schools in 2020 after 20 years as a school bus driver, where he was deeply loved by all of his special needs students. He cherished summers around the pool and at Alum Creek, where he delighted in taking his children and their friends out on the boat and trying to buck them off the tube to hear their laughter. Rick also loved mowing on his John Deere tractor and doing yard work, especially when it gave him the chance to give his kids and later his grandkids rides in the front loader bucket.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore and Laura Budd, his in-laws Normand and Mary St. Marie, and his sister Martha Taynor.

Rick is survived by his wife of 41 years, Clarice; his children, Rachael (Don) Kirkham and Jacob (Sydney) Budd; his grandchildren, Ethan (Vicky) Kirkham and Nikole (Jackson) Nugent; his great-grandchild, Valerie Kirkham; his sisters, Janet Lindsey and Donna Portal; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He will be remembered fondly by all whose lives he touched with his quiet kindness and playful spirit.