Orville Wayne (“Buck”) Buckingham was born on August 22, 1923, in rural Prairie City, Iowa to Reverend Benjamin and Flossie (Brubaker) Buckingham and went to the Lord peacefully on February 28, 2026 at the age of 102 ½.
Orville sustained a severe burn on his right leg in September 1931. It was August of 1932 before he could walk without crutches. He graduated from Prairie City High School in 1941 and attended McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas 1941-1943. He expected to be drafted into the service during WWII but was 4-F because of his leg. He returned to McPherson in the fall of 1945. The luckiest day of his life was in December of 1945 when Etta Marie Royer decided to transfer to McPherson from Drake University. They started dating in March of 1946 and it wasn’t long before they knew they had each met their life mate. Buck graduated from McPherson in 1947 and earned his M.A. Degree from Truman State University in 1958. Buck taught and coached at Nichols, Iowa from 1947-48. Orville and Etta Marie were married in Etta’s hometown, Dallas Center, Iowa, on June 4, 1948. They taught school for three years at Delta, Iowa and then, in 1951, moved to Ottumwa where they finished their teaching careers. Orville was a member of the Ottumwa Church of the Brethren, Rippling Waters Questers, the Eisenhower Elementary School Board (while Eisenhower was an independent county school before it joined the Ottumwa Community School System), was a founding representative on the Ottumwa Council of Churches and was active in other civic organizations in Ottumwa and Wapello County. Having grown up on an Iowa farm, Buck was an avid gardener and maintained a large vegetable garden for over 50 years until, at age 95, he decided that he was tired of fighting the deer, raccoons and rabbits for his vegetables.
Orville is preceded in death by his parents and older siblings, his beloved wife Etta Marie in 2009, and great-granddaughter Etta Edith Shutt in 2020. He is survived by his sons, Stephen (Elizabeth) of Minnesota and Robert (Jean) of Waverly, IA, his granddaughters Megan (Brian Hiester) Buckingham and great-grandson Ben of Decorah, IA, Lyndi (Andrew Schutt) Buckingham-Schutt and great-grandchildren Kai and Mara of Ames, IA and grandson Christopher (Stephanie) Buckingham and great-grandchildren Theo and Sophia of Green Bay, WI. He was beloved by a host of nieces and nephews.
Visitation and memorial services plans are pending. Memorials may be made to Pickwick Church in Ottumwa, 1210 West Williams Avenue, Ottumwa, Iowa, 52501-4447.
