Dale Buckingham

Dale Garland Buckingham 2/13/1931 – 6/28/2017 On June 28, 2017 Dale was surrounded by loving family, when his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ decided to call him home. Dale was born in Anaconda, Montana on February 13, 1931 to Harry and Dorothy Duvall (Sharp). Dale’s Mother, Dorothy remarried C.W. Buckingham. His stepfather raised him from the age of 4 years old thru high school. Dales parents were dedicated Christians and passed much of their knowledge and faith on to Dale and his brother Ron. He went to grade school in a one room school house in Argenta, MT. Today this one room school house can be seen at the Beaverhead County Museum in Dillon, MT. Dale had fond memories of his childhood. One summer his Father took him to the main Crow Indian Reservation in Billings, MT to combine wheat with him. His Father and him slept in a tent on the Reservation at night and worked all day. He worked on many ranches cowboying, combining, haying and tractoring, to include the Hirschy and the Zebrath Ranch in the Big Hole, the Ferris ranch in Dillon, the Kane and Rock River ranches in Wyoming and the Merritt ranch in Arizona. He met the love of his life, Cellus (Candi) Carter, in 1951. He was in the Navy stationed in San Diego when he met Candi. They dated for a year, and soon as Dale was out of boot camp, they eloped to Yuma, Arizona and were married on March 22, 1952 They had five children, Dwight Calvert (Preston), Bibiana Leilani, Garland Carter, Rhonda Dale and Candette Prim. They raised their children on a mini ranch in Lakeside, CA, where they had horses, cows, goats, pigs, chickens, cats, dogs, rabbits and more. In December 1950 was when Dale joined the United States Navy and was in the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Dominican Republic Intervention. During his Navy career, he was on seven ships and three shore stations. He retired from the Navy in April 1970 at the rank of Master Chief. He started a second career at the United States Postal Service, where he was a Letter Carrier with a walking route and worked for approximately 8 years. Dales next career was with the County of Riverside, CA. He started in the local Hemet office and through promotions held many titles including, Eligibility Worker, Eligibility Supervisor, and Medical Eligibility Data Specialist. He is the one who created this position, which was the liaison between the county system and the state data system. He worked here for 13 years and did his final retirement in 1992. Dale loved to write in his free time and read Cowboy poetry. Even though he was very successful in the big city, he missed his roots and in the summer of 2010 returned to his home town of Dillon Montana. Once back home, he immediately fitted right back in and volunteered for several organizations, including the Beaverhead County Museum. He was also a member of the NRA, the American Legion and Chaplin of the VFW. Dale was an amazing man, and very humble. His love for people, his kindness and his devotion to God stood out clearly in the minds and hearts of those who knew him. He was married to his beautiful wife Candi for 62 ½ years before she went home to be with Jesus. He continued to wear his wedding band every day for the rest of his life. What a great comfort it is to know that they are holding hands in heaven now. Dale is survived by his 5 adult children, their spouses. Eight grandchildren, Rachel, Joshua, Hannah, Joshua, Cherise, Leland, Michael, Gregory and Prim and 13 great grandchildren. Dale would not be happy if we did not include what was most important to him. As we mentioned above, Dale loved people, but most of all was his love for Jesus Christ. In his last days at the hospital and the facility, he ministered to everyone who walked in. Even though he was the one who was sick and on hospice, he was not thinking of himself, but of you, the people he knew, the community he lived in. He wanted you all to know that there is a loving God who loves YOU and wants to spend eternity with you. He kept saying ‘if you want to see me again, you need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ’. Dale wanted to help everyone and ensure that they would have eternal love and happiness and always referred to John 14:6 “ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” So, please, not just for Dale, but for yourself consider a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and it will change your life for the better, we promise. To a wonderful man, we love you and already miss you. We will join you some day. Thanks Dad.