E. "Buck" W. Buckley

E. "Buck" W. Buckley

E.W. “Buck” Buckley, 89, of Silsbee, passed away Tuesday, February 10, 2015, at Silsbee convalescent Center.  Buck was born on January 29, 1926, in Hemphill, to Sally Nash Buckley and Walter “Red” Buckley.  A native of Silsbee, Buck and Dorothy retired in 1986 and moved to the community of Plum Ridge on Sandy Creek, Lake Sam Rayburn.  Buck was an avid outdoorsman, spending his time fishing, hunting, and gardening.

Buck worked in the oilfield for many years for Cormier Well Service.  The last twenty years he served as Superintendent for Santa Fe International Drilling Company, working overseas in the Persian Gulf, Egypt, and Africa.  He moved his family to the Canary Islands to be closer to him in the early 70’s.

Buck proudly served his country in the United States Navy as a member of the Aviation Unit Black Cat Squadron.  His mechanical skills landed him on a VP 52 that conducted anti-shipping patrols at night in New Guinea.  He even “falsified” his birth certificate and joined at the tender age of sixteen!

Buck will be remembered by family and friends as a master domino player.  He acquired this skill from his father, Pa Red.  He knew exactly what dominoes all players were holding after the first play!  Any time family got together, he would start a domino tournament.  The last tournament he played lasted until nearly 3:00 a.m.

Buck was also an avid fisherman.  He spent many hours running trot lines and was quite successful catching the really “big” ones.  He also loved to catfish with a rod and reel using “Catfish Charlie”.  Fishing for crappie was also one of his favorite things to do.  This past summer he was still fishing for crappie, even though he needed a little help reeling the big ones in.

Hunting has always been important to Buck as well.  He taught his sons and grandsons how to hunt at an early age.  Even the last few years, he could easily climb into a deer stand.  He would then be scolded for falling trying to climb down, as he would not wait for help.  On one of the leases he hunted in West Texas, he climbed thirty feet to the top of a pecan tree (wearing rubber boots no less).  He shook and shook the branches, knocking pecans to the ground.  He wanted to pick pecans for Dorothy so she could make him a pecan pie.  D’Wayne, Kenneth, Larry, and Kyle still say he could work circles around them!

Buck was also known for his witty remarks. Some of his favorites were: “get up, you’ll be in the way there” (if one of the grandkids fell down) or “I’ve had worse scratches than that on my eyeball” (if one of the kids came to hurt).

Buck is survived by his sons, Jerry Buckley and his wife, Sheila, of Port Aransas; Kyle Buckley of Plum ridge; and Richard King of Navasota; daughters, Carole Favro and her husband, Terry, of Nacogdoches and Jan Crowell and her husband, D’Wayne, of Silsbee; sister, Ruby Botello and her husband Paul, of Willis; twenty grandchildren; twenty-six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Dorothy Conway Buckley; daughter, Kaye Scott; sisters, Annie Bea Evans, Opal Casey, and Ruth Stanford; and brother, Roy Buckley.

The family would like to thank the staff of Gentiva/Odyssey Hospice for their care of Buck for the last eleven days.  Also, a special thanks to Jo Reeves and her staff at Silsbee Convalescent Center for their excellent care and compassion.

A gathering of Mr. Buckley’s family and friends will be 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Thursday, February 12, 2015, at Broussard’s, 490 Cemetery Road, Silsbee.  His graveside service will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, February, 13, 2015, at Davis Cemetery, Colmesneil, conducted by Pastor Michael Moak, Silsbee First Assembly of God Church.

Honoring Buck as pallbearers are grandsons, Floyd Buckley, Brett Crowell, and Travis Favro; nephew, Richard Butler; and special friends, Kenneth Powell and Larry Cooper.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, 2200 Space Park Drive, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77058.