Richard "Rick" Nolan Buckner

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ellen Prince Banks Buckner, his sister Kathy Jane Buckner Eades (Gene), his son Ben Nolan Buckner (Kayla), his daughter Britton Staples Buckner (Teo), his granddaughter Brita Pressley Buckner, his niece Donna Denise Darden Duffy (Brad), his nephew Dustin Jeremy Darden (Kelly), and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his father Homer Edgar Buckner and mother Mary Ellen Nolan Buckner.

Rick graduated from Ramsay High School in 1966, where he played center for the varsity football team and catcher for the varsity baseball team. He attended Auburn University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham before going to work at Durr-Fillauer medical supply and serving in the Alabama National Guard, 109th Evacuation Hospital Company, as Company Clerk. He married Ellen in 1972 at Yeilding Chapel on the campus of Birmingham Southern College. He spent more than 25 years of his career as an Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master Plumber and Pipefitter with United Association Local 91. As a union employee he worked for Banks, Ellett, & Ramsay, Inc., where he often worked on hospital renovations including those at The Children’s Hospital of Alabama, UAB “Quarterback Club” Tower, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Baptist Montclair Hospital and others. He also worked at US Steel Fairfield Works and Pipe Mill, and at Birmingham Steel Erectors where he was a project manager, foreman, and supervisor.

He retired in 2003. Rick led Ben’s troops of Tiger Cubs, Cub Scouts, and Boy Scout Troop 311 as an Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster, shepherding many young men on their path to Eagle Scout, including Ben. He was a member of the Order of the Arrow scouting honor society and went through Wood Badge training, an advanced national leadership course. He led innumerable outings and summer camps including annual trips to Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Shiloh National Historic Battlefield, the Sipsey Wilderness, the Birmingham Area Council Camporee, and Camp Sequoia. He also led the troop as it hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail.

Aside from his family, nothing defined Rick’s life more than his love of golf. He played most often at Oxmoor Valley and all the courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail across Alabama. While living in Mobile, his house was on the RTJ Magnolia Grove course. There he met the Thursday Afternoon Golf Tour or “TAG Tour” group, making friends he played with regularly. In Birmingham, he also had his core group of “Golf Guys” he played with four times a week including in “Dogfights,” the “Battle on the Beach” in Destin, FL for the “Bynon Cup” and on trips to destination courses, including in California, Arizona, Oregon, Florida, and Mississippi. He first shot his age – a longtime goal – in 2021 at age 73. That same year, he won the Gold Medal in the Alabama Senior Olympics and represented the state in the National Seniors Golf Championship. He hit two lifelong golf milestones when he played at the birthplace of golf – the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland (2023) – and attended the 2024 MASTERS Tournament in Augusta, GA.

Rick was a craftsman. He loved working with his hands and built out a full woodworking shop where he made several projects on his own and with his children. Due to his family’s long association with Camp Winnataska, he participated in many building projects and work weekends at the camp. He also took an active role in the design, construction, and maintenance of the family home atop Shades Mountain. Of all of his passions, being a grandfather to Brita – or “PawPaw,” as he was affectionately called – was one of his favorite roles. He and Brita shared a special bond as co-founders of the “popsicle club” and the “puzzle club.” She took him to her piano lessons, and he took her to the golf course. He will be missed dearly by his sweet granddaughter. Rick was beloved by all who knew him for his ready smile, gentle wit and always positive and encouraging comments. He nurtured the relationships and friendships that mattered to him throughout his life. Whenever he was asked what he wanted for Christmas, a birthday, or other holiday his answer was always the same - “a happy family” - and that’s exactly what he got.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to one of the following: The First Tee of Birmingham www.firstteebirmingham.org/donate or Highlands United Methodist Church Community Ministries Project or Highlands United Methodist Church Choral Scholarships at www.highlandsumc.net/giving