Obituary of Peter Thomas Budreau

Peter Thomas Budreau, age 69, of Spooner, WI passed away in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday, July 28th after a brief battle with brain cancer.

Peter is preceded in death by parents Paul and Mary Ann Budreau of White Pigeon, MI.

He is survived by his four children Caroline (Drew) Langfeldt, Paul (Dana) Budreau, Suzanne Budreau, and John Budreau; grandchildren Eleanor, Beatrice, Frederick, Adelaide, Brooks, Nora; brothers David (Jan), Tim (Susan); and many other family members and friends.

A Visitation and Funeral Mass will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Richfield, MN on August 16, 2024 at 2:30pm, followed by a backyard BBQ at his daughter’s home.

Born in Hammond, IN, Peter graduated from Gavit High School in 1973. He excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He was named to the 1972 All-Conference basketball team, helped his baseball team win the conference championship in 1973, and was selected as Athlete of the Year in 1973. He attended Valparaiso University on a football scholarship, working his way up to the position of starting quarterback for his senior season. After graduating in 1977, Peter moved to Chicago for his first sales job, and then on to Minneapolis, MN in 1980 as a representative for Wells Lamont. In 1984 he married Judith Ecker. They raised their four children together in Excelsior, MN until 2009.

Peter put his patience and athleticism to work coaching his children’s youth sports teams. He spent countless hours on soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and basketball courts. When not coaching sports or golfing, he enjoyed fishing with his family at their cabin and listening to good tunes.

His job as a manufacturer’s representative for nearly 20 years gave him the opportunity to travel the world and pick up new hobbies. He would mix up milkshakes in his Oster blenders, marinate meats with his Food Saver, and catch the biggest fish with Rapala lures. When he began representing Weber grills, Peter became a master of the BBQ, firing it up year-round at the slightest hint of a request from his kids.

Peter was also an excellent golfer, making it down to scratch at one point. He enjoyed taking his kids out to the golf club on summer weekends and evenings in their youth. He made annual visits to his brother in Orlando where they golfed all of the best courses together. During what became his last season of golf, Peter scored a hole in one on league night at the Spooner Golf Club. He wasted no time in calling his loved ones to share his excitement.

His greatest pride in life was his four children, and his grandchildren. Even as he slipped from this world, he wanted to know how the most recent round of golf went, or how a grandchild’s team fared in their latest tournament. His favorite weekends were the ones spent golfing with his kids and brother, or fishing on the dock with his grandkids. As his favorite musician, John Prine, wrote “how lucky can one man get?”