WAYNE LEE BUCKNER
WAYNE LEE BUCKNER
Wayne Lee Buckner of Silver City, New Mexico passed from this life on December 1, 2012. He was the son of Alfred Wayne and Marjorie Maude (Strait) Buckner. Wayne was born September 11, 1935 at home on a farm near Hamburg, Iowa. He started school in Fremont county but was interrupted when his parents bought a farm south of Mount Ayr. He attended Lotts Creek #4 or Stansberry school about a mile south of the new farm. Wayne graduated from the eighth grade and scored second highest in the county on the eighth grade test required at that time.
Wayne graduated from Mount Ayr high school with the class of 1954. Wayne participated in the Golden Gloves boxing tournament in Des Moines two of those years. The second year he was competing for the championship in his weight division and was defeated. The winner was later disqualified. Wayne should have then been declare the state champion, but that never happened.
Wayne served his country in the United States Army in 1958 and 1959.
In high school Wayne’s goals were to be a forest ranger, have a buckskin horse, an Airedale dog and a read-headed woman. He graduated from forestry school at Iowa State University in 1962. He had two good buckskin horses and two good Airedale dogs in his lifetime and the same red-headed woman for over 50 years.
Wayne married Sue Ann Taff of Mount Ayr on Christmas Day, 1961. They went immediately to Orfino, Idaho to work for the forestry service. Wayne made ranger and they moved to Montana. They later moved to Arizona and New Mexico. Wayne had first-hand knowledge about fighting forest fires and worked as a consultant after he retired.
Wayne was active in the Silver City Lions Club and a local hiking group.
Wayne and Sue Ann had three children, Ben Roy was born February 7, 1968, Lee Ann was born June 4, 1969 and Jennifer was born April 7, 1973. Ben died suddenly on Thanksgiving Day, 1971 while the family was visiting in Mount Ayr.
Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, son and younger brother, Gerald Buckner.
He is survived by his wife, Sue Ann; his daughters, Lee Ann (David) Zoller of El Paso, Texas and Jennifer (Justin) Skaret of Tucson, Arizona; brother and sister-in-law, Max and Jo Ann Buckner of Mount Ayr, Iowa, and four grandchildren, Benjamin and Lauren Zoller and Sydney and Collin Skaret.
Wayne was a loving and caring son, husband, father, grandfather and brother. He loved his family, nature, his neighbors and fellow employees. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
Cremains will be buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Ayr, Iowa at a later date.
