[Nfbwv-talk] Buck Saunders passed away last night at age 76

[David Andrews]

Sad news indeed.  My thoughts and wishes are with the Saunders family 
and the NFB of West Virginia.

Dave

At 11:14 AM 4/30/2013, you wrote:
>This is one of the most difficult messages I have had to send in 
>recent memory, because it is to let you know that at around midnight 
>yesterday Buck Saunders passed away.
>
>Many of us were gathered together when we inducted both Buck and 
>Mary Ann into the NFB of WV Hall of Fame. Here is a brief quotation 
>from the remarks which Ed McDonald delivered at that presentation.
>
>"Willis Gene Saunders was born September 13, 1937, in Huntington, WV.
>As a young boy attending the West Virginia School for the Blind in 
>Romney, his imagination was forever captivated by the drama of 
>science fiction heroes, gangsters, villains, detectives and crime 
>solvers that he heard on the radio.  Fascinated by the heroic 
>adventures of Buck Rogers, he took on the moniker that has stayed 
>with him throughout his life.  Buck is a 1958 graduate of the School 
>for the Blind, and in 1971 he earned a degree in speech and 
>psychology from Marshall University.
>His early employment included jobs as a clerk typist with the 
>Pennsylvania Department of Welfare and as a police and fire 
>dispatcher in Cabell County."
>
> From my perspective as a relative newcomer to the NFB of WV family 
> Buck immediately impressed me as a man who was Always properly 
> skeptical of the self important, yet he was never cynical about his 
> fellow citizens or the idea that by working together we can improve 
> the human condition.
>
>Buck had a habit of posing an idea by beginning, "I've been thinking 
>of something which you may think is really far out, but..." There 
>was no question that the commentary which followed was likely to be 
>complex and would challenge the listener to follow his very unique 
>narrative, but at the end of the trail there was something of value, 
>worth thinking seriously about.
>
>Mary Ann is with her daughters, Laura and Terri,  this morning. As 
>soon as plans are announced we will forward them to you.
>
>At the Hall of Fame presentation Buck was quoted as saying he wanted 
>to be part of an organization which "wasn't afraid to stand up on 
>its hind feet and say enough is enough." That is the spirit of Buck 
>Saunders which will always remain close to my heart
>
>Brad     Hodges.