Mick Buck (RIP)
Dec 3, 1946 - Jan 7, 2008
Mick was born Graeme Terence Buck in 1946 at Springvale Victoria in a family of four to Lindsay & Margaret Buck. The story goes that Margaret wanted to call him Graeme Terence and Lindsay wanted to call him Mick. Lindsay won the moral victory and the name Mick Buck caught on. Mick had an older brother Colin and in later years came his brother Kevin and sister Hilary. His early years were spent at Mernda; later Lindsay bought his first farm at Plenty, where they farmed pigs.
Mick was his primary school’s captain & captain of his football team, where he played in the back pocket. He once revealed the story of how he came to be a Collingwood supporter. He liked the magpies that hung out behind the school toilets and decided to barrack for the ‘Pies.
His secondary schooling was done at Watsonia Tech where he became a prefect. At the end of high school he did one year of a plumbing apprenticeship, but left to work with his dad. During this time he traveled into Melbourne to study guitar. It was then that he got his sense of 50’s rocker style with the big Elvis coiffe & his sideburns, which survived until 2008. During this time his guitar teacher encouraged him to become a professional guitarist, but he chose instead to work with his father at Plenty and later at Bunnaloo.
Here he met Carmel Dean at Echuca and later they married in 1968, he became a loved member of the Dean family. Whilst living at Bunnaloo, Stuart was born. They soon moved to Thule near Barham where Mick managed the property Clontarf for seven years. Here Rodney and Carly were born. During this time he developed his interests in shooting and fishing. He kept these until he died.
It was then that his father Lindsay got sick and for a short time Mick and his family returned to Bunnaloo to help his father at their property Letona. In 1977 they moved to Hay where Mick sold cars for the local Ford dealership. One of his proudest memories was becoming one of the highest selling regional Ford managers and meeting Henry Ford the second. Here, at Hay, Dion was born.
Then the wanderlust returned and they moved to Jerilderie to take up the lease on the Amoco truck stop. Here they stayed for fifteen years; ten in the truck stop and five sharefarming.
In 1996 the big seachange occurred and the family moved to Jindabyne, where they operated the Snowline Shell service station for the next nine years. Here he fell in love with the Mountains and would often get out and go exploring.
Then Carmel and Mick returned to a traveling time, working for Rampage National to manage some of their truck stops. In 2006 Mick developed pancreatic cancer and fought it well until finally succumbing to it last Monday.
Those who knew Mick know that he was a gentle, quiet, man. Slow to anger and quick to forgive. His patience was inexhaustible. He was a most beloved husband and an adored dad, and pappy. His passing has left a huge rift in many lives. He will never be forgotten.