Michael Dennis Buckley
Michael Dennis Buckley, 75, passed away the morning of October 29, 2022.
Born on December 7, 1946 in Mission,
Texas, he was the son of Roy Owen Buckley
(July 19, 1921 to January 6, 1998) and Ruth
Alice Barr Buckley (April 20, 1921 to
January 29, 2008). He spent his childhood in
Mission, growing up on the corner of Bryan
Road and the Two-Mile Line, on a parcel of
land originally purchased by his great aunt
and uncle, and next door to a one-time
summer home of William Jennings Bryan.
Mike was a 1965 graduate of Mission High
School. After graduation, he enlisted in the
United States Navy. Following basic training,
he earned a Radioman rating and would serve
a combat tour off the shores of North
Vietnam aboard the USS Horne—under the
command of Stansfield Turner, a future
admiral and later Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency.
Returning to South Texas after his navy
service, Mike enrolled in Pan American University. He later transferred to Texas A&M
University, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Geology. Mike
would develop an expertise in Hydrology in a career that began with Mobile Oil, then to Everest
Minerals, and ending with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
It was during his senior year that he met the love of his life Faye Amette Rigby (April 10, 1947
to October 3, 2022). After graduation, and his enlistment, they were married on January 16,
1966, in Puget Sound, Washington. Together they would raise two daughters in an adventure that
began in San Francisco, but would traverse through San Diego, the Rio Grande Valley, College
Station, Denver, Corpus Christi and ultimately to Kerrville. Mike was an adventurer at heart. He
loved the water, boats, and scuba diving. He kept fish and other sea life he caught off the Gulf of
Mexico in a giant aquarium. He raced motocross in the early 1970s and continued to ride
motorcycles into his seventies enjoying the back roads of central Texas. He skied the back bowls
of Vail while living in Colorado. He helped launch and pilot a hot air balloon with friends in the
Rio Grande Valley. Mike had a green thumb cultivating native Texas plants. He was an artist –
his paintings and wood carvings will continue to be cherished by his family. He loved his family
and instilled strong beliefs of honesty and fairness – especially for the underdog.
Survivors include his daughters Michelle Amette Buckley (Alex Kutch) of Houston Texas and
April Krystine Buckley de Garcia (Martin Garcia) of Kerrville, Texas; grandchildren, Oscar
Alexander Kutch of Houston, Texas, Carmela Xamette Garcia, and Pilar Xolaya Garcia of
Kerrville Texas; brother Patrick Buckley (Marylin) of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, sister Krysti
Davis (Michael Ohlinger) of Mission, Texas, and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, and a brother, James Owen Buckley
(November 9, 1944 to May 21,1994).
The family would like to thank the staff of The Heritage of Meyerland Memory Care for their
steadfast support in the recent days. In lieu of flowers or donations, have an adventure, create
some art, or go outside and plant something.

Service will be private.