William Floyd Bucklew

William Floyd Bucklew, Kansas City, Missouri, Martin City, MO. , age 70 , passed away on October 17, 2021. William was the youngest son of Floyd and Mary Bucklew. He was raised with his sisters Jeanette and Rita and his brother Edd on the family farm in Miami County, Kansas. He was active in 4-H and had many friends. He graduated from Paola High School. William loved the outdoors, his dogs, and Mother Nature; he had an extraordinary green thumb. He obtained a Bachelors’ degree in Forestry from Kansas State University. Upon graduation, he worked in his chosen field in Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana doing forest management and fighting forest fires. He worked for several agencies including the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service. When he returned to the Midwest, he lived first in Olathe and then moved to Martin City until his recent passing. He started a landscaping business and designed and landscaped properties in Johnson County Kansas for years. He also worked for Price Chopper, until his retirement in 2019. William was kind and warm-hearted. He cultivated friends as well as plants. He cared for many dogs, and especially loved Bootie, a Newfoundland cross, and Strawberry who was a blue heeler Australian Shepherd. Camping and hiking were some of his favorite experiences. He was artistic, with an eye for composition and color, which served him well as a landscaper. He loved music; although he did not perform, he had eclectic taste in music and surrounded himself with music whenever he could. William will be missed family and friends including by his brother Edd, his sister-in-law Lori, brother-in-law Stan Green, niece Allison and nephews Sean and Andrew, as well as his life-long friend Diane Panozzo and her children Susie and Ritchie. Visitation Friday from 1 to 2:00pm at the Dengel and Son Mortuary with graveside services at the Paola Cemetery Friday October 22nd at 2:15. If any friends or relatives want to commemorate William’s life, his family suggests contribution to the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, or the Nature Conservancy. Or, best of all: Plant a Tree! That would be a beautiful tribute to William Bucklew.