Zane Keller Puckett was born in Buffalo, Kansas, July 20, 1924, growing up on the family farm, the son of sharecroppers. At the age of 17 he joined the Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. During the war he served in the Pacific and saw action in Okinawa. After the war he decided to stay in the Navy and served an additional 20 years in posts all over the world. He used to say he went around the world twice and once over the top for democracy. In 1964 he retired from the Navy and settled in Corpus Christi, Texas. For 20 years he managed the Officers Club and Bachelors Officers Quarters on NAS Corpus Christi. In 1975 his BOQ was awarded the best Mess in the Navy. In his retirement years he enjoyed golfing, hunting with The Shooting Stars gun club and gambling in Las Vegas, earning distinction in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. His life was so interesting he gathered it all together in a book, “From Kansas Sunflowers to Saltwater”.
Preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Margaret Puckett; sister, Zelma Lynam and wife, Claudette Puckett.
He is survived by daughter, Margo Whitlock; son, Kurtis (Winnie) Puckett and daughters, Zenda (John) Boudreau, Rebecca Verburgt and Reba Manning, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 10:00 am at Memory Gardens Funeral
Home.
Private Entombment will be at Memory Gardens Mausoleum at a later date.
