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[quote="Todd Fromer"]Christmas in Cranbury, New Jersey will never be the same as our small town will be missing one of its most beloved characters in Lawrence “Bud” Guidi, Jr., 47, who passed away suddenly and tragically on Christmas Day.

A long-time Cranbury resident who perennially embraced the role of Santa Claus to brighten the spirits of his friends’ and neighbors’ children, Bud’s hour-long memorial service at Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Plainsboro drew hundreds of grieving friends and family who were touched by his life.

As a young man, Bud spent time as a lifeguard and enjoyed playing rugby. He attended Valley Regional High School at Demarest and later went on to attend Villanova University. A proud Wildcat, Bud indulged his school spirit like few can, donning the furry costume of the school mascot and cheering along at every game. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Bud went overseas to study at the London School of Economics, where he received his MBA.

He soon became a dedicated businessman, who despite his exceptionally warm nature, found a great deal of success in the highly-competitive banking business. After spending years with Merrill Lynch and UBS, Bud spent the last seven years of his life as Vice President of Comerica Bank & Trust in Princeton, New Jersey.

While his academic and professional accomplishments were impressive, anyone who knew the man understood that Bud measured his successes in the richness of his family life and his many friendships.

A model father to his four children, Trip (11), Bianca (9), Jordan (7) and Giancarlo (5), he never missed a softball, soccer or Little League game and never let a weekend go by without his wife, Tara and all four children, camping out on the bed together for family time. He was a steady fixture at the Queenship of Mary Church, and kicked off each Sunday morning by cooking a big breakfast of made-to-order eggs, Taylor ham and home-fried potatoes. He was a generous and loving man. It was a rarity if his friends and his children’s playmates were not invited for Sunday breakfast at Poppa Guidi’s.

When he wasn’t playing the role of family man, he was lighting up the life of his many, many friends. A jolly, funny man, Bud was often seen serving up early morning Mimosas to a smiling group of Cranbury moms at the ball field or holding court to a wide circle of friends at the Cranbury Swim Club while he kept a watchful eye over his children.

He and his wife were also staples at every Cranbury event and informal get-together. “He was always the life of the party. He loved to be behind the bar and he loved to see everyone having a good time. He was everybody’s drinking buddy, even when he wasn’t drinking,” recalled his friends and neighbors.

When he wasn’t entertaining his friends on land, he and Tara would entertain them at sea aboard their sailboat, Mud Turtle, which they owned together with Bud’s lifelong friend, Donald Ross. Every year as spring approached, Bud would begin to talk about the boat and how much he loved to sail. On warm weekends, he could be seen in his worn cap and Bermuda shirt, heading off to the Raritan Yacht Club to “do a little work on the boat”.

Yet, for those that knew him the best, it was very hard to envision Bud on the boat alone, as it was rare for him to plan a sail or do anything that he really loved without inviting his friends to enjoy it with him. To those that loved Bud and for those that “sailed” with him, this came as no surprise. The real surprise was in the tragic manner in which such an unselfish man – a man who would dress up as Santa Claus each year – could be called to God so young, on Christmas Day.[/quote]

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