Celebrating the Life of William (Sweedie) Buck
Sunrise Sunset 07/01/1952 06/13/2021
William was born to the parents of January and Helen C. Buck (who have both preceded him in homegoing) on July 1st 1952 in Crenshaw, Mississippi.
He was the second of seven children in this union. His siblings are January Jr. who has preceded him (Ellen) Buck, Frankie Lee (Ivan) Dawson, Cubby (Lou) Buck, Rickie Lee (Dorianne) Buck, Kenneth (Terri) Buck, and Alfred Buck. During his childhood, his family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio where William graduated from East Tech High School and enlisted in the Air Force in 1972.
He served in the Vietnam War as a service mechanic until his honorable discharge in 1975. He relocated to Texas and attended Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, Texas and obtained a Mechanical Engineering degree. Upon his college graduation, he started his career at NASA in Houston, Texas and then transferred to Phillips Petroleum for the next twenty years. Throughout his time at Phillips Petroleum, he was relocated throughout the Texas area and eventually up north to Michigan.
After his career with Phillips Petroleum, he remained in the Michigan area and called Grand Rapids home. He dedicated his time to the St. Philips Episcopal Church focusing on at-risk youth, delivering health messages, diabetic education, and creating a co-op garden through grants to help feed the local community.
He also worked with the local newspaper, The Grand Rapids Times. During his lifetime, he inherited stepsiblings Dan and Rita Calcote and he was a father to three children: Yvonne (Fred) Walker with Crissie Ervin; Tombi (Marcus) Smith and Timothy (Amanda) Buck with IraLee McDow. He was also a grandfather for Yvonne (3), Tombi (8), and Timothy (3). While in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he lived the rest of his life with his companion, Pamela Chapman who has also preceded his homegoing. Also continuing to cherish his memories are many nieces, nephews, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and friends who will all miss the man who never met a stranger.
The LORD replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." -Footprints in the Sand
Tagged in: