Dr. Daniel Buller, Sr.

OPELOUSAS- A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Dr. Daniel Hayden Buller, Sr. on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Opelousas. Monsignor Keith DeRouen will celebrate the Mass. Rite of Committal will follow at Bellevue Memorial Park in Opelousas.

Dr. Daniel Buller, Sr. passed away peacefully, at the age of 89, on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at his residence in Opelousas. He was surrounded by his loving family during his final moments. 

Dr. Daniel Hayden Buller, Sr. was born on March 11, 1934 in Ville Platte, Louisiana. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School of Ville Platte in 1951 and received his Bachelor of Arts and science degree from LSU in Baton Rouge in 1955, then earned his medical degree from LSU in New Orleans in 1958. He completed his internship with the US Public Health at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland in 1959. In 1961, he completed his one-year appointment as a surgical assistant at the United States Public Health Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas.

He completed his general surgery residency with the US Public Health Service (USPHS) in New Orleans and was later appointed deputy chief of surgery at USPHS hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in 1965.

In 1965 he was admitted as a diplomat to the American Board of Surgeons in St. Louis, Missouri. While in New Orleans because of his skills in chest surgery, Dr. Buller was requested by US President Richard Nixon to travel to Philadelphia, Mississippi to be available for chest surgery if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. should be wounded during his visit there.

In July 1967, the American Board of Surgeons announced that Dr. Buller was opening his office in Opelousas and became an active member of the OHGS medical staff.

In May 1968, he and his surgical team at OHG, performed a six hour surgery on a Louisiana State Trooper who was shot on duty during a robbery. Governor John McKethan traveled to Opelousas General to praise the trooper for his bravery and to thank the hospital team for saving the sergeant’s life.

Dr. Buller was instrumental in setting up a surgical scrub tech course at OGHS. He was on of the physicians responsible for developing and opening the original Cancer Center and cancer program that became the first cancer program in Acadiana to be Accredited by the American Board of Surgeons. He was also instrumental in bringing hyperbaric oxygen services to OGHS. He served as Chief of Staff at Opelousas General Health System from 1984 to 1986 and practiced medicine from July 1963 until June 2011. 

He is credited for enhancing and saving the lives of thousands of individuals in our community during his career as a General Surgeon. He is highly respected for his dedication and contributions to OGHS, and the Opelousas St. Landry parish community. His love for his patients and medicine is undeniable. 

Dr. Buller is survived by his wife, Claudia Speyrer-Buller, sons, Daniel H. Buller, Jr. and wife, Andrea, Robert S. Buller and wife, Betty, Timothy J. Buller and wife, Roxy. His stepsons, Joseph Broussard, and Christopher Broussard. His granddaughter, Stacy Charles and husband, Dolby. His grandsons, Dylan Buller and wife, Jenica, and Nicholas Buller, and his three great-granddaughters.

He was preceded in death in death by his daughter, Kathryn Louise Buller. His grandson, Jacob Allen Buller. His father, L. Allen Buller, his mother, Mamie Deville Buller. His sister, Rita Rae Buller Broussard and her husband, Walter Broussard.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in the Sibille Funeral Home of Opelousas. The rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. by Deacon Sammy Diesi. Visitation will resume on Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m., followed by the Mass.

Pallbearers for the service are Daniel H. Buller, Jr., Robert S. Buller, Timothy J. Buller, Dylan J. Buller, Eric Buller and Nicholas Buller.

Honorary pallbearers are Dr. J. Y. Bordelon, Mr. Patrick C. Morrow, Joseph Broussard, Dr. Kerry Thibodeaux and Christopher Broussard. 

The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Darlene S. Speyrer, Angel Castille Trombay, Lisa Doucet, Angie Thomas, Unrica Richard, and staff, along with LHC Hospice.

The family request that in lieu of flowers, a gift to your favored charity may be made in memory of Dr. Daniel Buller, Sr. 

Words of Comfort for the family may be expressed at www.sibillefuneralhomes.com. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sibille Funeral Home of Opelousas.