“Virtue and genuine graces in themselves speak what no words can utter” 

- William Shakespeare

Mary Elizabeth “Buffy” Paquin: a paragon of grace, virtue, tenacity, elegance, humor, generosity.

A woman who seamlessly danced between revered Comerica trust officer and devoted wife, left this world Oct 11th after her beloved Detroit Tigers were un- able to dispatch their Ohio rivals at the stadium named for her lifelong employer.

Buffy was born and raised in Detroit, one of five children of Alvin and Frances Okuley, and educated at The Academy of the Sacred Heart before attending the University of Michigan Dearborn where she received a Masters Degree in Psychology.

In the late 60’s she met advertising executive Douglas Paquin, a father of two daughters. Buffy and Doug were wed for life in September of 1968.

Together they turned life into an amusementment park of travel, fine and casual dining (from Benno’s to Lafayette Coney Island), plays, musicals, sporting events and charitable endeavors until Doug’s passing at 93 on April 9th of this year.

Buffy and Doug displayed such a fierce closeness and devoted tenderness that family members often stated the couple as one word “Buffy and Doug,” though Mary Elizabeth Paquin was known to be ruggedly independent in the world of banking and personal finance.

In her retirement, Buffy steered philanthropy and giving for Comerica, allocating millions in donations to worthy causes in the state of Michigan.

Buffy’s brother Bert Okuley and sister Molly Abraham Graham preceded her in death. She is survived by her brothers Alvin Okuley (the late Marge and James Okuley (Nicole), by the women she helped raise; Cherie Paquin and Nicole Curry (Gary), by her granddaughters Jourdan Allen and Hannah Kinney (Alexander), great grandson Walter, and nephews James and Robert Graham.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to www.coe1.org, a zero overhead charity helping the homeless in Detroit.

View obituary and share memories at AJDesmond.com