Bryan Buck
Bryan R. Buck
June 2nd, 1974 – June 9th, 2024
*Author’s Note: The following excerpts in our “Life Stories” are from the Celebration of Life service for Bryan R. Buck for you to read, reflect, and pay your respects privately. Just four short years ago, my friends, Bryan and Jessie, booked the first wedding for my new Wedding Officiant business. It was a joy and honor to unite this incredible couple in marriage. It was a horror to receive the news that he was gone and an overwhelming honor to be tasked with leading his funeral service. I hope his service properly celebrated his life and acknowledged the wonderful impact he made on the world around him. His service also included loving sentiments from his wife and his mom.
Bryan was a positive source of encouragement for me with my business. He once told me that I didn’t know how to fail. I corrected him and said that I definitely do fail, I just don’t know how to stay down. He liked that and agreed. My heart breaks for my dear friend, Jessie. I wish she could have had many more years being married to the man of her dreams. Jessie, may Bryan find you in your dreams until you are together again.
Bryan was the best, and we were all blessed to have known him. The greatest parts of his life were getting to be Jessie’s husband and to be a father to Dominick and Josie. Bryan will be dearly missed by many.
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Some of you may recognize me as the officiant from Bryan and Jessica’s wedding. It has been a joy being friends with Bryan and Jessica. As I stared at my laptop deciding how to begin this service, all I kept hearing was what Bryan would say if he could welcome you all here today himself. I think he’d say, “Well, this is some bullshit.”
And it is. We don’t want to be here. We don’t want to be doing this. For Bryan to suddenly be gone, it doesn’t make sense. It’s not fair. But Bryan knew about life not being fair. After all, he vowed that whatever his wife Jessie wants, Jessie gets, whether it was fair or not. Bryan would jokingly message me some silly complaints that he wasn’t getting his way, and I’d gently remind him of his vow and that there were no returns and that he was so lucky that Jessie loved him. Man, he was such a fun guy.
All of us gather here today with broken hearts because Bryan, with all his playfulness and sincerity, is no longer a physical presence in our lives. We are left with a powerful sense of loss. Where we are experiencing his loss- a missing piece- Bryan is experiencing completeness- wholeness. Bryan is home now in the loving embrace of our Lord in heaven. His journey is complete. He is reunited with his niece, Tabitha, and other family and friends. He is surrounded by love.
And while the broken pieces of your heart will never quite be the same, know that Bryan would not want your heart to be troubled. May you find comfort in sweet memories, may you find peace in the ways you find him to still be a part of your present, and may you find hope in being reunited with him someday in the kingdom of God.
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Jess and I worked together at the cemeteries, and she stood in the back of the chapel countless times and dutifully cried as I shared the life stories of others. I always knew that if Jess was crying that I was doing a good job. My dear, I thought I’d be long retired by the time you’d personally need my services. I never wanted to be standing up here making you cry over your Bryan. But we don’t pick our cards, and the best we can ever do is play the heck out of the cards that we’ve been dealt.
As a friend, Bryan was the best. He was generous with his time and talents, and he was always ready to be a helper. After learning that my new fixer-upper home had some safety concerns, he was compelled to not only provide assistance but to thoroughly rectify the situations so that my son and I would be safe. What resonated with me the most was as he uncovered more and more shoddy workmanship from those before him, he became more resolved to fix everything. Where some people would’ve said “good enough” or “let’s go for done,” Bryan proved his work ethic was much stronger. Safety for others he barely knew was more important than a quick fix and run. I knew my friend, Jess, and her children were in excellent hands with this man. I’m very thankful to Bryan, the “screen door” he installed is working perfectly and holding up like a charm.
I’m not the only one with stories like this of Bryan. He was known for being genuinely concerned for others, a devoted family man, a hard worker, and a true friend.
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After 9 years together, on October 9th, 2020, Bryan married his soulmate, Jessica. Bryan and Jessica called themselves “movie lucky.” Each of them would say that they won the life lottery with finding each other. They proved to be a steadfast team and were deeply blessed with their love for each other.
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Bryan was born June 2nd, 1974. He just celebrated his 50th birthday. It does feel like Bryan’s 50 years went by way too quickly. While no length of time with our loved ones will ever seem long enough, it is an absolute blessing to have had Bryan present on this earth for 5 decades. His time here and his time spent with each of you was a precious gift. When your world is feeling a little too empty, may you fill it with gratitude that your time here overlapped with Bryan’s and that you were blessed to know him.
There are so many stories to tell and memories to relive. Please, share the memories, share the love today and in the days and years to come so that Bryan’s legacy may endure. Embrace and share with others the qualities of Bryan that you love and miss so much. Cheer on the Brewers, help out a friend, cook a meal for your loved ones, play a round of mini golf, take a hike, experience God in nature, keep a few wire nuts in your pockets, and remember Bryan.
Bryan will be forever missed by his parents Steven and Nadyne, his wife Jessica, his children Dominick and Josephine, his brother Wayne and his family, his in-laws James and Mary Anne, his brother-in-law Anthony and his family, and many other dear family members, friends, dogs, and cats.
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Bryan, may you rest in eternal peace knowing you are dearly loved.
My sincere condolences and love, Holly