LEONARD BUELL TUBBS, 92, of Voorhees, New Jersey, died Thursday, December 1, 2005, at Virtua Health Hospital in Voorhees.

Buell was born November 18, 1913, in Lead, South Dakota, the son of Leonard and Blanche (Miltimore) Tubbs and grew up in Hancock and Plainfield, Wisconsin.

He joined the Marine Corps and served as a drill sergeant at the US Naval Recruiting Center in San Diego, California, served in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, and was discharged in 1945. Four of his brothers and sisters also served in the Marine Corps. He married Winifred Chapin in San Diego in 1945, and they moved to Ely, MN, in 1947 to assume management of the resort, Camp Van Vac, which had been established by their relatives Kate and Van Harris in 1917. Winifred died in 1982. Buell retired from the resort in 1984 but maintained a summer residence on Burntside Lake. In 1984 Buell married his beloved Helen Morgensen, and they spent their winters in San Diego, California, later moving to Washington and New Jersey.

Buell was considered a wise woodsman, loved and respected by Camp Van Vac's guests for more than 40 years. He was a quiet man who surprised his friends with his wry humor and inspired many with his knowledge of the woods and his love of Burntside Lake, the Boundary Waters, and the Superior National Forest.

He was a past master of Ely Masonic Lodge 288 AF&AM, a past patron of Ely Order 216 of Eastern Star, and served as a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church in Ely.

Buell is survived by his wife Helen of Voorhees, New Jersey; his daughter Nancy jo Tubbs of Ely; step-daughter Paula Nigro of Haddonfield, New Jersey; step-son Douglas Kuentzel of Templeton, California; niece Linda Harlow of Mountlake Terrace, Washington; nephew William Bruegger of Tuscon, Arizona; daughter-in-law Judy Eledge of Post Falls, Idaho; sisters Colleen Sparks of Plainfield, Wisconsin, and Beverly Mitchell and Arlene Kennedy of Almond, Wisconsin; brother Adrial Tubbs of North Bend, Washington; sister-in-law Alice Tubbs of Snoqualmie, Washington; sister-in-law Ruth Tubbs of Plainfield, Wisconsin; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Buell was preceded in death by his first wife, Winifred, his parents, brothers Harold and Cliff, sisters Kathleen and Maxine, step-son Donald Rinehart, and step-daughter Donna Jean Daniel.

A memorial service was held in Haddonfield, NJ, on Saturday, December 3, 2005. Buell's ashes will be scattered at a second service in celebration of his life in the summer at Camp Van Vac. To share a remembrance of Buell, friends may send an email to info@campvanvac.com. Helen Tubbs can be reached at 1 Brendenwood Drive #D183, Voorhees, NJ 08043 and (856) 489-4450.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Philadelphia Shriner's Hospital for children at 3551 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140, or for a white pine to be planted in the memorial grove at the International Wolf Center, 1396 Hwy 169, Ely, MN 55731.