State Rep. John Buckner, who missed the last few weeks of the session because of an illness, died early Thursday, stunning his colleagues and the hundreds of students he educated over the years.
“My heart is broken,” his wife, Janet, said today. “I can’t believe my life partner isn’t going to be here but he got a lot done. He was fair and he was a straight shooter.”
Rep. Buckner was 67.
Earlier this year, the Aurora Democrat came down with a virus that impacted his respiratory problems. But he was expected to recover, which he referred to when he telling them he would be absent: “While I am sure some of you are relieved to get a break from me, don’t think for a moment that you’ve run me off!”
Buckner was in 2012. He worked for 40 years in the Cherry Creek School District at Laredo Middle School, Smoky Hill High School or Overland High School. The gym at Overland High is named in his honor. In the House, he served as chairman of the Education Committee.
Among those who mourned Buckner’s passing was former state Sen. Nancy Spence, a Centennial Republican. She has always credited “Mr. Buckner” for helping her son Greg graduate from Smoky Hill. He now is a director on “Games of Thrones.”
Services have not been scheduled yet. John William Buckner was born Sept. 12, 1947 in Indianapolis. The family moved to Colorado in 1975. Buckner is survived by the couple’s three children, Jay Buckner and twins Joy Buckner and Jennifer Cobb. His wife said he doted on their three grandchildren.
A vacancy committee this summer will meet and elect a replacement for Buckner’s seat.
