The Dads
*
The Dads *
Meet Buz
Buz is a Cincinnati native, a proud Denison University grad, and the kind of dad who signs his letters with a doodle, a quote, or both.
He’s been married to his bride, Betsy, for over 40 years and together they raised three kids: John, Annie, and Rosie.
Buz has been writing letters to his kids for as long as they can remember. Camp letters. College letters. Tuesday-morning-just-thinking-about-you letters. Some funny. Some deep. All filled with heart. Over the years, his writing spilled over to friends, neighbors, even strangers — anyone who needed a reminder that they matter.
He’s a recent PhD graduate at age 67 (proof that it’s never too late), and when he’s not writing, you can find him splitting firewood, chasing after his two extremely naughty Westies (Pearl and Piper), laughing at his own jokes, or enjoying the peace of northern Michigan.
More than anything, Buz just loves being a dad. He’s good at it. And now, he wants to be a little bit of a dad to you, too — one handwritten letter at a time.
Meet Darren
Darren is a lifelong Michigander, a Dad, and a recent retiree after a 40+ year long career. Here’s the catch: Darren’s not really the “retirement” type, so he spends his time finding projects that help him do all of his favorite things. He couldn’t believe his luck when Buz & Rosie offered him the opportunity to write Dad Letters. He already knows his morning letter writing hour is going to be his favorite part of the day.
Darren will be the first to tell you his wife, Bridget, of 35+ years has all the brains. He’ll then tell you their two kids, Graeme and Mara, grew up to have big brains too.
Darren has always been the Lunch Box Note kind of dad - short, sweet and perfectly timed for when his kids were having a rough day or when he could just tell they needed an extra pep in their step. Darren is always finding ways to coach, mentor and celebrate people. He’s got a pretty wide-ranging track record so far: employees, soccer players, entrepreneurs, sailors, scuba divers, his kids, the list goes on. It was never about the job, the soccer, the sailing, the scuba - it was always about noticing what makes each person so special and never, ever letting them forget it. He’d probably give them a business book rec along the way, too.
Dad Letters are new to Darren, but Darren’s ready to scale his Lunch Box Notes to follow along with Buz, Rosie and you on this Dad Letter Project journey. He’s very proud of a lot of people and he can’t wait to discover why he’s proud of you, too.
Meet Tim
Tim is recently retired after teaching elementary school for 35 years. Without a captive audience, his students, to listen to his stories and laugh at his jokes; he decided to join the Dad Letter Project. Tim’s wife wholeheartedly agreed, knowing that he had entirely too many “words of wisdom” for her to handle on her own. Tim is the proud father of two grown children and an adorable Shihtzu named Frannie, who in her own right is a micro influencer ( in both physical size and number of followers) on TikTok. When he isn’t posting TikToks of Frannie, you can find him hiking in the various woods around the area. He is currently still searching for a comfortable hiking boot and is open to suggestions. In his own words, “ I joined the Dad Letter Project to help myself and others stay connected in this often hectic world we live in”.