William J. Buck. Jr.

Memorial services for William J. Buck Jr., 59, of Atlantic will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic.  Mr. Buck died of cancer at the Cass County Memorial Hospital Sunday evening after a prolonged illness.

William John Buck Jr., was born June 23, 1923, in Des Moines, the son of Ruth Cowell Buck and William John Buck.  He was reared in Ringgold County, where his family farmed.  He graduated from the Tingley High School in 1939, and then attended the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, where he graduated in 1940.  From 1940 to 1943 he was employed by the AAA county office in Mount Ayr.

He enlisted and served in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific and was stationed in Japan with the occupation forces.  He was honorably discharged with the rank of yeoman first class.  He then attended Iowa State University in Ames, where he received a bachelor of science degree in agricultural education in June 1950. 

He was married to Mary Jane Johnson of Des Moines, June 11, 1950, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Des Moines.  Two children were born to this marriage, a daughter, Linda Jane and a son, Thomas Joel. 

Mr. Buck began his career as a vocational agriculture instructor in Winterset and was employed by Ames In-Cross Hybrid Chicks Inc., and DeKalb Agricultural Association.  The Buck family moved in 1964 to Atlantic, where Mr. Buck has been employed the past 18 years by Walnut Grove Products.  At the time of his death, he was manager of the National Feed Division of Walnut Grove.  He was well-known in the agricultural and livestock feed industry in Iowa and the Midwest as well as other parts of the United States.

He was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic, and during his lifetime, he was a Vice President of the Roland Kiwanis Club and the American Legion.  He was an active member of the Atlantic Elks Lodge 445 and the Nishna Hills Golf Club.

He is survived by his wife, Jane; daughter, Linda Jane of Waterloo; his son, Thomas J. and wife Debra of Pueblo West, Colo; his mother, Mrs. Ruth Buck of Mount Ayr; two brothers, Paul R and wife Marjorie of Grundy Center; Max J. and wife Clara of Mount Ayr; his parents-in-law, Martin and Lillian Johnson of Iowa Falls; and a brother-in-law, Martin Johnson Jr. and wife Beverly of Phoenix, Ariz.  He is also survived by five aunts, two uncles, 11 nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by his father William John Buck in 1977 and a brother, Ralph Boyd Buck in 1930.

Mr. Buck donated his body to the University of Iowa College of Medicine to further medical knowledge and research.

A visitation is planned for 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Roland Funeral Home.