Melvin Lee “Mel” Buckley, 85, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Memorial services will be held 6:30 P.M., Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at Central United Methodist Church in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with the Rev. Chris Ramsey and the Rev. B.J. Funk officiating.
Mr. Buckley was born January 5, 1937, on the family farm southwest of Clyde, Kansas. He was the youngest child of the late Grant E. & Emma L. Kolling Buckley. He attended grade school at District 59, Ames, Kansas, and graduated from Clyde Rural High School, in May, 1954. He attended college at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He attended the University of Missouri, Kansas City Campus, where he started work on a Juris Doctorate degree.
Mr. Buckley became a member of Mensa at the age of 20. He also was a sustaining member of the Republican National Committee, and the Heritage Foundation. He was a member of Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Task Force for six years. During his lifetime he owned several small businesses, the first organized at the age of 14, and the last being Buckley’s Fish Camp in Astor, Florida.
He is survived by one daughter: Sherry Lou Hanchett & Eric of Sun City, Arizona; two granddaughters; one grandson; and a brother, Charles E. Buckley of Bloomington, Illinois. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his oldest brother, Chester A. Buckley and his only sister, Dorothy A. Gaston.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests those desiring to send memorials, may send them to Central United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 428, Fitzgerald, Georgia, 31750.