Denice Buck (Verda Denice Buck)
December 14, 1935—September 20, 2021
Denice Buck, beloved mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away Monday, September 20, 2021. She was 85. Denice will be remembered by her family and friends for her independent, active, participative spirit.
Denice grew up among the rolling hills of Adair County, Iowa. Born in 1935 to Wayne and Grace Rochholz, she learned the importance of family and hard work on the family farm. While in high school at Oaks Park Academy, Denice met her future husband Harold Buck and the sweethearts married in 1954. The couple moved to Colorado when Harold began his career in healthcare at Denver’s Porter Hospital and then moved to Brighton in 1978 when Mr. Buck began his 17-year service as the President & CEO of Platte Valley Medical Center.
Over her lifetime, Denice contributed to numerous communities in the Denver and Brighton area. In her thirties, and as a mother of three children, she worked as an administrative assistant for the School of Nursing at Porter Hospital, and after moving to Brighton served many years as administrative assistant at Brighton’s Zion Lutheran Church. She and her husband Harold were active members of the Brighton Seventh-Day Adventist Church and in their retirement contributed countless hours serving on church committees, facilitating social functions, and supporting teachers and students at Brighton Adventist Academy.
Denice treasured her family and friends. When her children were young, the family regularly spent time together in the Rockies at their small mountain home near Fairplay snowmobiling, four-wheeling, and enjoying the golden glow of aspen trees in the fall. In the second half of her life, Denice was a proud grandmother who cherished being in the presence of her four grandchildren. Denice also deeply valued her circle of friends, many of whom she’d know for decades and who frequently lunched together.
Denice loved the natural world. She delighted in birds and birdsong, growing peas in her garden, and the beauty of roses which grew in her backyard. She savored warm Colorado sunshine and sunsets and the pleasure of eating and talking on her back porch.
Denice is survived by her children Craig Buck, Mike Buck, and Cheri Buck-Perry, and her grandchildren Ashley Buck, Ross Buck, Annie Buck, and Nikolai Perepelitza.
A memorial to celebrate Denice’s life will be held on Saturday, October 23 at 3:00 pm in the Brighton Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
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