Obituary of Dr. Arthur Charles Buck

Dr. Arthur Charles Buck, of Morgantown, WV and formerly of Kingston, NY, an Associate Professor Emeritus of English at West Virginia University, died early Monday morning, August 18, 2014 at Golden Living Center of Morgantown. He was born in Long Island City, NY on February 14, 1927, the son of the late John Walter Buck, Sr. and the late Alice Olga (Soff) Buck of Kingston, NY. He was a great grandson of the late Johann Heinrich (Henry) Bock and the late Wilhelmine Cohrs Bock, who came to America on October 23, 1854 from Hanover, Germany on the boat named Minna. He is survived by his beloved daughters, Cecile Buck Starr of Orangeville, PA, and Dr. Rosemary Buck (Dr. Peter Hesterman) of Charleston, IL; and his devoted family, grandson Andrew Steiner of Bloomsburg, PA, and grandson Michael Lee McHenry, Jr. and granddaughter-in-law Amanda Scheno McHenry of Bloomsburg, PA; a brother, Robert Eugene Buck and sister-in-law Ruth Breed Buck of Minoa, NY; nephews Jeremy Buck of Portland, OR and Steven Buck and grandnephew Rowan O’Connell Walpole Buck of Minoa, NY; and several cousins, among them, William Buck of Cave Creek, AZ, Marion Buck McNally of Bloomsburg, NY, Dorothy Buck Ambrosino of Staten Island, NY, Frank Galgana and Russell Galgna of Clarksville, NY, and Beverly Galgana Tessler of Redwood, NY. He was preceded in death by his parents, and former spouse and best friend, Christiane Bouffier Buck of Paris, France and Morgantown, WV; a brother, John Walter Buck, Jr. of New London, CT; a nephew, Michael Buck of Kingston, NY; cousins Harriet Buck Galgana of Wappingers Falls, NY, Edna Buck Owen of Oviedo, FL: Victor Owen of Oviedo, FL and John Walter Buck and spouse Mabel Hansen Buck of Staten Island, NY. A graduate of Kingston High School, NY (1945), Dr. Buck earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (1956, 1957) and the Ph. D. degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Arkansas (1980). An Air Force veteran of World War, II and a member of the U.S. Occupational Forces in Germany, he held overseas assignments at Orly Field, Paris; at Tulln Air Base, Vienna, Austria; in USAFE headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany; and at Tachikawa Air Force Base, Japan where he served in the Office of the Brigadier General Paul L. Barton. He retired from the Air Force in 1965 after 20 years of active duty and was discharged from the USAF Reserve in 1975 after more than 30 years of active and reserve service. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9916 in Westover, WV. While in Japan, he served as part-time Instructor of English (1958-1961) for the University of Maryland Far East Division in Tokyo, which provided university courses for American and allied forces of military personnel and their dependents. He had served on the faculty of the English Department of West Virginia University for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1996. He specialized in world literature and frequently taught courses in Chinese and Japanese literature in translation for the Foreign Languages Department of West Virginia University. Dr. Buck served as assistant editor of Asian Forum: A Quarterly of Asian Affairs (1972-1974) and as assistant editor of the Bronte Newsletter (1993-1995). He edited “Insights” for the Morgantown Dominion-Post Panorama (1969-1971) and “Perspectives” for the Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail State Magazine (1971-1976). He was the author of Jean Giraudoux and Oriental Thought: A Study of Affinities (1984) and various essays article and poems, among them “Astuko” (an elegy); “The Cardinal” (a tribute to President Kennedy); “The Moment of Recognition;” and “The Love Story of Liwen Lee and Chung Lin Chen.” Shortly before his death, he had completed a poem, “If I Should Fall in a Foreign Land” and a short story, “The Magic Rope of Christmas.” At the time of his death, he had just completed A Soldier’s Symphony of the Absurd; a book, and was still working on Through the Eyes and Ears of a Soldier; and a three-act play, Nekosan, which evolved from his military experiences in the Protocol Office of General Barton in Japan. His greatest regret was that his illness precluded him from completing Nekosan. In 1986, after a two-year investigation which he had conducted under the auspices of the West Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors, Dr. Buck compiled, wrote, and submitted to the American Association of University Professors a comprehensive report detailing the numerous, serious and systemic problems in the promotion tenure, grievance and appellate systems within the higher education systems of West Virginia. He was a life member of the Modern Language Association, and held memberships in other professions and educational organizations, among them the American and International Comparative Literature Associations, the National Education Association, and the American Association of University Professors. He held terms as secretary, vice president, and president of the WVU Philogical Society. From 1991 to 1995 he served as the Vice-Chairperson of the Institute for German-American Relations (Pittsburgh, PA). He was an avid chess player and table tennis player and a lover of symphonic music. Dr. Buck is listed in various editions of biographical reference books, among them International Leaders in Achievement (1988), the International Director of Distinguished Leadership (1989) and Who’s Who in America (2009). Family and friends will be received at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Star City on Thursday, August 21st from 10 AM until the celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM with Father John V. DiBacco as celebrant. Interment will follow in East Oak Grove Cemetery, Morgantown, where Full Military Honors will be accorded at the graveside by members of VFW Post 9916. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fairmont State Foundation Christiane Buck Sweeney Scholarship Fund, 1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV 26554-2470.