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Now Playing at our place:
We love you, Dad.
Presenting our late, great, Dad, Husband, Brother, and Friend, David Bucknam.
Thanks to all 300+ of you who came to the party (some pictured above) and shared their stories of Dave at the celebration on December 15, 2004.
It was great to see so many old friends, listen to tales some of us had never heard before, and see some of the images from his life.
Soon, we'll post audio files of each of the speakers (provided the recording is any good) and also post the rest of the images that we projected at the party, but aren't yet here online.
Photos
Some photos of Dave from mid 1944 to late 2004 are here. If you have photos you'd like to share, send it to this address and we'll make sure it gets up there.
Stories
You can read some stories about Dave here. There are over 20 stories so far. If you have a story about Dave you would like to share with us, tell us about it here, and we'll post it online.
A really well-written obit from the Rocky Mountain News is here in PDF form. (152 KB)
Here's a PDF of the Denver Post's obit on Dave. (128 KB)
Our rememberance of Dave:
David Lee Bucknam of Lakewood, Colorado left this plane for his next adventure on Monday, November 22, 2004. He succumbed to metastatic melanoma after 5 years of living—and living well—with the disease.
Dave was born in Brockport, NY in 1944, and arrived in Lakewood when he was 10. He became an avid and skilled mountaineer and skier, getting an early start in the Denver Junior Group of the Colorado Mountain Club in his teens. In the “Juniors” he lead climbing trips and outings, taught mountaineering skills to other teens and adults, and shared his love of the outdoors. He continued to climb throughout the western US, the Hindu Kush, Canada, and in Mexico. He was preparing for another winter of skiing.
Dave taught junior high history and geography for several years, worked for the Colorado Land Use Commission and then for over 24 years with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. He retired as Director of the Office of Active and Inactive Mines, and when asked what he did, he always smiled and said he “closed up old mines”. Under Dave’s leadership, Colorado’s Inactive Mine Reclamation Program and the Colorado Mine Safety and Training program were nationally recognized. He was a mentor and role-model for many of the employees in the Department. His competence and dedication—coupled with his compassion for his co-workers and his leadership on national issues—made a lasting impact not only on the Division, but the State and the nation as well. In 1990 he served as president of the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs and continued to provide leadership to the Association by serving on several national committees.
In the past 12 years, Dave added to his outdoor activities by taking up high-performance driving at events put on by the Rocky Mountain Region of the Porsche Club of America. Dave was a tireless volunteer and driving instructor for the club, winning the Distinguished Driver Award this past year. He had also taken up sailing, often bare boating around the Caribbean.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan Hurlbut Bucknam, and son Alan, daughter-in-law Robyn, granddaughters Sophie and Piper; son Peter, daughter-in-law Tiffany and the sproglet. He is also survived by brothers Bob and John, their families and the Hurlbut clan. He was an amazing man and is sorely missed.
A celebration of his life was held on Wednesday, December 15th at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, and attended by over 300 people who shared many great stories about Dave. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Melanoma Research, in care of the Melanoma Research Program, 1665 N. Ursula Box F703, Aurora, CO 80110.