Bye, Dad

John Mack Buchanan
John Mack Buchanan "Buck" Johnny Mack passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on April 14, 2009. He was born June 9, 1936 in Hobart Mills, CA to Harold and Katie. Dad was a dedicated and loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, teacher and friend. He served in the Armed Forces in Germany. He worked 47 years as a plumber - 27 with J&S Mechanical. He helped establish the apprenticeship program at SLCC and worked with over 2200 apprentice plumbers. Remember? His stories - huntin', fishin', golfin', "goin'west," fish fries, the talking stick, the wooden bowl, the whooperwills and horned toads, spot x, etc. "We love you, Dad! Thanks for all the great life lessons." Survived by his wife of 48 years, the love of his life, "blue eyes", Kathy; three daughters, Patti Barlow, Stacy (Jason) Thackeray and Piper (Greg) Wise; seven grandchildren, Candice (Bryan) Ivie, Ryan John (Amanda) Olson, Lacie Reed, Michal "I.A." and John Thackeray, Cannon and Harper Wise; one great-granddaughter, Austyn Lynn and one on the way. Also survived by sister Linda (David) Hammer; and many other family and friends - you know who you are. Preceded in death by his infant son, his parents, and his sister Sharon. A celebration of his life is planned for Tuesday, April 28th from 7-9 p.m. at the LDS Chapel located at 10375 S. Leilani Drive, Sandy, UT. Online condolences may be shared with the family at http://www.jenkins-soffe.com/

I went on vacation. While I was gone, my dad passed away. No, I didn't rush home, there was nothing I could do by that time. I had already said my goodbyes. I asked him before I left if he wanted me to bring him home a seashell from the beach, and he said, "No, not really." So I knew.

I thoght losing my friend Lori at age 25 was hard. I thought going to my infant nephew's funeral was hard. NOPE. The hardest thing I've ever had to do was tell my son that his grandpa was gone. He got angry. "Why didn't Grandpa do his excersizes?" he asked. "Well, son, his body just didn't work for him any more and he was really tired." I'm glad we had the extra time away to buffer him a bit. I've noticed it takes him a bit to process feelings. 2 days later he expressed worry to Pink WaWa that "she might get died" How awful. It's so hard as a parent, you want to shelter your kids from all that's bad, but you just can't. They have to live life too.

I'm a jumble of feelings. Kind of sad, kind of glad, kind of pissed. Glad to be home though, can't wait to hug my mom and family.