The honors bestowed upon Ann Buehler throughout her life grew in number on October 8, when the long-time community leader was memorialized with the unveiling of a new street sign bearing her name.
Buehler, who passed away last year at the age of 94, was a civic leader and the first female executive director of the Variety Boys and Girls Club. She was also a Republican state committee member in northeast Queens for many years.
The renamed street corner, dubbed Ann Buehler Way, is located at the intersection of 21st Street and 30th Road in Astoria, the site of the neighborhood’s Variety Boys and Girls Club.
Members of the Club and the Buehler family were joined at the unveiling by Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Aravella Simotas.
Mary Demakos, a dear friend of Buehler’s, presided over the ceremony, and Tena Vallone, a Boys and Girls Club volunteer and the mother of the councilmember, offered a tribute.
“Ann helped and inspired thousands of kids at the Boys and Girls Club,” said the councilmember. “Her name and memory will live on – right on the corner where so many youngsters walk by to use the Club each day so that they can connect with friends, share meals and engage in fun and productive activities.”
Buehler was an active board member of the Club beyond her 90th birthday, and she was a volunteer at “Variety-The Children’s Charity Annual Telethon and Radiothon” for well over a decade. She was also instrumental in the allowance of girls to become members, at a time when the organization was known only as the Boys Club.
Among the many distinctions Buehler earned during her life were numerous citations and proclamations from various Queens legislators and a citation from President Harry Truman in reward for her volunteer work during World War II.
