Bucky Simonson, I've known him since grade school, was one of my very close friends in the old neighborhood between Craycroft and Wilmot and between 22nd and Golflinks. We had in that neighborhood like Tiny Townsend, Roger Norton, Jeff Smith, Jay Gerstel, Bob Valenzuela, Dale Mow, Danny Jo Smith, Danny Scott,Bruce Nelson, Tod Robinson,Conrad Lewis, Charles Elder, Danny Armour, Gary Carender, Tom Dietzman, I know there is more names but the Senior moments come about, but these are the people that I grew up with and Bucky was one of them. Great memories. In grade school Bucky and I had a fist fight in the middle of Alamo right by his house, but in the street, and I think it was before they paved the streets. I mean we were hitting each other like crazy and wrestling on the ground and really mad. What we were fighting for??? I have NO idea, but Bucky and I were the best of friends till on hearing of his death. I still haven't heard the real story of his passing away. I know Bucky had been at the 10 year Reunion and that was the last time I seen him. Great person to be friends with, I will miss him. Dan Johnson '68
I got to know Bucky mostly in jr. high (Mary Naylor). He was always easy to be with and always seemed to be looking at all the angles that could possibly be played. He was a great guy to be around and gave little trouble to most (cept for the above, Dan Johnson, I suppose). Couldn’t ask for much more than that.
Sometimes, Bucky’s dad would take a few of us to school in some sort of Jeep type vehicle he owned. The Jeep had a tail-gate and just to show off, we would all sit on it as we neared Naylor and when, fortunately, Mr. Simonson would slow down to say, 5-15 MPH. In what would be the last time we would ride on that tail-gate, the Jeep hit a bump in the road in front of the school and the chains securing the tail-gate in the horizontal position broke. Todd Robinson and Charles Qualls were both seated with their butts nearly hanging over the edge of the tail-gate. I was sitting just behind them with my legs, only, on the tailgate, so those two were the first to hit the ground when the tail-gate slammed down. They began to bounce – on their backs – and bounce and bounce (especially Charles, because at that time, he had more mass-to-bounce per-sq. inch than did long and lanky Todd). They bounced about 2-3 times when I started to laugh my butt off at them bouncing along like some 50’s cartoon, when suddenly; the tail-gate was now, ‘no more’ for me, as well. Consequently - for all practical purposes - my legs ‘resting’ platform was now gone and flapping freely underneath me. Before I could say s--t! I hit the ground bouncing along with the other two cartoon figures, or better yet, the other two Stooges, Charles and Todd. Except, I wasn’t laughing very much at this point.
Back in those days, people didn’t file legal suits very often, so nothing was ever said about it except, after that, Bucky could only laugh at me whenever he saw me. I couldn't blame him either, because to this day, I still crack up when my mind's eye watches the other Stooges bounce like lumps of clay down the highway.
I didn’t see Bucky all that often at Palo Verde (dang school was too big, especially with those split sessions the "Prison" dealt out to us inmates back then). In ’78, I was at the reunion with Ellen Whitter (PV '68) and Ray West (PV '68), when I noticed this guy out on the dance floor movin’ and groovin’ to the music they played that night some 30 years ago. The man’s dance moves reminded me 'exactly' of Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou when he rode into town - drunker than a skunk - on that white horse nearly falling off it at every turn, and boy, this man, just like Lee Marvin, made a whole bunch of crazy, off-balanced turns while dancing with his lady that night in '78. After some time, I asked Ray, ‘who is that guy?’ To which, Ray said, ‘Bill, you won’t believe it, but that’s Bucky Simonson!’ I immediately fell off of my chair, picked myself up and ran over and grabbed Bucky. We had a great hug and a good talk.
Bucky eventually came to my shop for several years for haircuts and bull sessions. While there, he once told me that most pipefitters were often on the move, working wherever they needed pipes fitted, I suppose. All across America and beyond... In this nomadic line of work, Bucky told me that their income could sometimes, 'unfortunately,' go undocumented for some reason or another??? Sloppy record keeping on the bosses part, I suppose? So, when Bucky ended his occasional visit to my shop, I figured he had gone looking for some of those ‘undocumented’ proceeds, as I know he’d want the IRS to have their fair share.
In the end, I suppose, all one can hope for when we lose a dear friend, is that they were blessed with a good life and passed-on painlessly. I pray that was Bucky’s story. Bill Hudson ’68
Date Deceased: February 27, 2006
Dan L Johnson
Bucky Simonson, I've known him since grade school, was one of my very close friends in the old neighborhood between Craycroft and Wilmot and between 22nd and Golflinks. We had in that neighborhood like Tiny Townsend, Roger Norton, Jeff Smith, Jay Gerstel, Bob Valenzuela, Dale Mow, Danny Jo Smith, Danny Scott,Bruce Nelson, Tod Robinson,Conrad Lewis, Charles Elder, Danny Armour, Gary Carender, Tom Dietzman, I know there is more names but the Senior moments come about, but these are the people that I grew up with and Bucky was one of them. Great memories. In grade school Bucky and I had a fist fight in the middle of Alamo right by his house, but in the street, and I think it was before they paved the streets. I mean we were hitting each other like crazy and wrestling on the ground and really mad. What we were fighting for??? I have NO idea, but Bucky and I were the best of friends till on hearing of his death. I still haven't heard the real story of his passing away. I know Bucky had been at the 10 year Reunion and that was the last time I seen him. Great person to be friends with, I will miss him. Dan Johnson '68
Bill Hudson
I got to know Bucky mostly in jr. high (Mary Naylor). He was always easy to be with and always seemed to be looking at all the angles that could possibly be played. He was a great guy to be around and gave little trouble to most (cept for the above, Dan Johnson, I suppose). Couldn’t ask for much more than that.
Sometimes, Bucky’s dad would take a few of us to school in some sort of Jeep type vehicle he owned. The Jeep had a tail-gate and just to show off, we would all sit on it as we neared Naylor and when, fortunately, Mr. Simonson would slow down to say, 5-15 MPH. In what would be the last time we would ride on that tail-gate, the Jeep hit a bump in the road in front of the school and the chains securing the tail-gate in the horizontal position broke. Todd Robinson and Charles Qualls were both seated with their butts nearly hanging over the edge of the tail-gate. I was sitting just behind them with my legs, only, on the tailgate, so those two were the first to hit the ground when the tail-gate slammed down. They began to bounce – on their backs – and bounce and bounce (especially Charles, because at that time, he had more mass-to-bounce per-sq. inch than did long and lanky Todd). They bounced about 2-3 times when I started to laugh my butt off at them bouncing along like some 50’s cartoon, when suddenly; the tail-gate was now, ‘no more’ for me, as well. Consequently - for all practical purposes - my legs ‘resting’ platform was now gone and flapping freely underneath me. Before I could say s--t! I hit the ground bouncing along with the other two cartoon figures, or better yet, the other two Stooges, Charles and Todd. Except, I wasn’t laughing very much at this point.
Back in those days, people didn’t file legal suits very often, so nothing was ever said about it except, after that, Bucky could only laugh at me whenever he saw me. I couldn't blame him either, because to this day, I still crack up when my mind's eye watches the other Stooges bounce like lumps of clay down the highway.
I didn’t see Bucky all that often at Palo Verde (dang school was too big, especially with those split sessions the "Prison" dealt out to us inmates back then). In ’78, I was at the reunion with Ellen Whitter (PV '68) and Ray West (PV '68), when I noticed this guy out on the dance floor movin’ and groovin’ to the music they played that night some 30 years ago. The man’s dance moves reminded me 'exactly' of Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou when he rode into town - drunker than a skunk - on that white horse nearly falling off it at every turn, and boy, this man, just like Lee Marvin, made a whole bunch of crazy, off-balanced turns while dancing with his lady that night in '78. After some time, I asked Ray, ‘who is that guy?’ To which, Ray said, ‘Bill, you won’t believe it, but that’s Bucky Simonson!’ I immediately fell off of my chair, picked myself up and ran over and grabbed Bucky. We had a great hug and a good talk.
Bucky eventually came to my shop for several years for haircuts and bull sessions. While there, he once told me that most pipefitters were often on the move, working wherever they needed pipes fitted, I suppose. All across America and beyond... In this nomadic line of work, Bucky told me that their income could sometimes, 'unfortunately,' go undocumented for some reason or another??? Sloppy record keeping on the bosses part, I suppose? So, when Bucky ended his occasional visit to my shop, I figured he had gone looking for some of those ‘undocumented’ proceeds, as I know he’d want the IRS to have their fair share.
In the end, I suppose, all one can hope for when we lose a dear friend, is that they were blessed with a good life and passed-on painlessly. I pray that was Bucky’s story. Bill Hudson ’68