Happy 100th Birthday, Sir Edward

For a time on Friday, the restaurant in might have been better named Birthday Boy.

The boy, Edward Tendbusch, the birthday, his 100th, was most definitely a milestone that restaurant owner, Dan Curis, did not want to let pass. Tendbusch, a Harper Woods resident and gentleman of a man, is by far the restaurant's most loyal customer and one of its most beloved.

He's there every Sunday without fail and also 4-5 times during the week for other meals. He drives himself and sits at the same table always. This has been his routine for 30-40 years. He is older than the restaurant chain itself. Big Boy started in 1936. Tendbusch entered the world on Dec. 9, 1911.

Tendbusch, AKA Sir Edward, just as inscribed on the birthday cake, is so well-known here that other regulars at Bob's Big Boy on Mack Avenue and Vernier Road see him as family and look forward to hearing his stories and being in his presence.

"He really is an amazing person. People just want to be around him," Curis said. "What I love about having this restaurant is how we become a family. It's like Cheer's, where everybody knows your name."

So on Friday, the actual day of Tendbusch's birthday, in a very simple celebration with about 15 friends--more than 20 counting the staff who came to sing Happy Birthday--there were hugs and handshakes and story-sharing.

Grosse Pointe Woods Mayor Robert Novitke, who along with the City Council was invited to attend the party Friday, attended. He placed a city pin on Tendbusch's lapel and talked and laughed with him--as so many who meet Tendbusch do.

"So I have to ask this," the mayor said. "Does the quality of the food have something to with your longevity?"

The laughter and the celebration took place In the back part of the restaurant with other restaurant regulars who now feel like family to Tendbusch.

"He was so excited to turn 100. He would say, 'One more month, one more week, one more day," said Irma Zehetmair of Grosse Pointe Woods of his countdown to the century mark "We are so happy for him. He is such a special person."

"Every time we see him we learn something," said Grace Mannone, also of Grosse Pointe Woods. "He knows so much about history. He's so well-read and so knowledgeable about so many things. It's just a joy being around him."

Zehetmair and Mannone are part of a breakfast group with Margaret Ahee, of Grosse Pointe Farms, and Nancy Velek of Grosse Pointe Woods. They also come on Sundays and always see Tendbusch there. They were happy to have some Edward time on Friday, his birthday, instead of Sunday. They have learned much about him over the years. That he's a woodcarver, a gardener, that his late wife Mildred - he prefers to call her Girly - was a concert pianist and opera singer. They know that at home he keeps a table with a fine china always set for special guests.

"He told us this is his church," Ahee said.

"We're his congregation," Velek added.

Tendbusch, wearing a dark blue suit with silk red time and matching pocket square, really never stopped smiling as the birthday wishes poured in and pictures were taken.

"I always say this is a wonderful place to go," he said of the restaurant.

"I wouldn't want to be there or there," he said, motioning to the funeral home across the street and the Sunrise Senior Living home behind the restaurant.

Curis chuckles, one of the many gifts Tendbusch has given him.

"Dan's a fun person. He and I talk about the financial world. Finances are what make the world go round," Tendbusch said.

Tendbusch always has the senior special. He also loves the fried shrimp when he comes for dinner.

"Sometimes as a little joke I say this is my church," he said. "Life has been good to me, but you have to celebrate to have a good life."

Curis crédits Tendbusch's longevity to "being a perfect gentleman. I believe that being a good person has come back to him in many ways."

Tendbusch is known for touching and holding hands with the person he speaks to and giving undivided attention.

John and Sandy Davis drove in from Florida for the Big Boy party. The couple, who were like children to Edward and Mildred Tendbusch, also held a dinner at Dearborn Inn Friday night with Tendbusch's nieces and nephews from the Thumb area.

Edward Tendbusch was one of the first people John Davis met when he came here from England in 1978. Tendbusch was his supervisor in the engineering metal shop for prototype vehicles at Ford Motor Co. and took him under his wing.

After Davis moved on to different jobs they stayed in touch, not only coming together for holiday meals but also for outings such as a favorite of Tendbusch's to the War Memorial. There he watches the freighters, pointing out the models and features of the cruising workplaces he once worked on.

The milestone celebration was marked with a traditional birthday cake with a modern twist: trick candles. Tendbusch blew and blew before he was let in on the joke.

"They're magic candles,"  Davis said. "They'll go on forever. Just like you."

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