Edward P. "Bud" Klucking

Bud Klucking, beloved husband, father, grandfather and scientist, achieved mortality August 1, 2013 at the age of 84. Bud was born in Gaylord MN on April 10, 1929 to Edward and Myrtle Klucking just minutes before his twin sister Evelyn. He grew up during the depression with a big, loving family and despite the hard times wanted for little. Bud had a raucous childhood and he was an excellent athlete, leading Gaylord High to the state tournaments in football and basketball. While in high school, he fell in love with Bonnie Feehan, who became his wife of 57 years in 1952. After high school, Bud enrolled at Macalester College in St. Paul MN but after one year he joined the Navy and served during the Korean War. After the War, he completed his undergraduate education at Macalester and moved with Bonnie to California to pursue his doctorate in Geological Science at UC Berkeley.

In 1960 he came to Ellensburg, WA to be a professor at Central Washington State College. Bud taught mainly Geology during the '60s, and switched to Botany, Biology, and specialized in Paleobotany in the 70s. Bud spent 34 years "stomping out ignorance" (his words) at Central Washington University and became an expert in the geology of Central Washington. Over his career, he and his students compiled an enormous collection of fossilized leaves that are currently on permanent loan to Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR. Bud went on several professional sabbaticals to pursue his research, and in 1983 while in the Netherlands, he developed a method of identifying fossilized leaves based on their venation patterns. That concept was the basis for a nine volume series of reference books and became the capstone of his professional career. He also loved living trees, and spent several summers counting and identifying trees for the City of Ellensburg, and cataloged over 100 memorial trees planted on the CWU grounds. In 1990, he won the distinguished professor award for research and began his acceptance speech with "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for leaves." He created a virtual arboretum in his own backyard and fought any effort to cut down a tree.

He had a huge heart, a giant personality and loved to argue, sometimes simply for the sake of argument. Both he and Bonnie seemed to read a book a day and amassed a huge personal library. Both of them were accomplished cooks and they relished their vast network of personal friends, acquired over a lifetime of potlucks and social events. Bud retired from CWU in 1994 and continued to travel extensively and love life with Bonnie until her death in 2009.

Bud was preceded in death by his father (Edward), mother (Myrtle), brother (Jack) and wife (Bonnie). He is survived by his siblings Marcia (Mel) Abraham, Evelyn (Jim) Huffman, Shirley (Vernon-deceased) Johnson, Tom (Sharon) Klucking, children Philip Klucking, Lisa (Todd) Pott, Joel (Tabitha) Klucking, Sara Klucking, and five grandchildren.

Anyone wishing to honor the life of Edward P. "Bud" Klucking can plant a tree, or send donations to the Mycology and Botany Endowment at the CWU Foundation, 400 E University Ave, Ellensburg, WA 98926.

A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, August 25th from 1-3pm at the Hal Holmes Center in Ellensburg.