Robert Broughton Wade Jr, known as Buck Wade, died peacefully at home Friday, April 19 , 2024. His daughter Amy, and grandson Stephen, were with him. He was 88 years old.

Funeral services for Buck will be held on Saturday, May 18,   at 1  p.m. in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with the interment to follow at Magnolia Cemetery in Batesville,   with military honors. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

Buck was born November 24th, 1935 in Cleveland   and grew up in Batesville. In high school, he became interested in football, archery and marksmanship, and he eventually carried those interests to the University of Mississippi, where he participated on the teams for all three sports while getting his bachelor’s degree in Art History. As an art major, he showed early talent for free hand drawing, a hobby he enjoyed and that delighted his family throughout his life.

To help pay for college, Buck enlisted in the ROTC and upon graduating, did an officer’s tour for the United States Army in Korea. He continued his career in the Army, completing Airborne Ranger training and flight training, and served as a battalion commander of the 10th Mountain Division outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 1966, Buck began his first tour in the Vietnam War as a fixed wing pilot. After serving a complete 365 day tour, he returned to his wife, Lyn Wade. For the next three years, they were stationed in the Rhine region of Germany, where he honed his helicopter flying skills and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

In 1969, Buck returned to Vietnam for a second tour, this time as a helicopter pilot. His unit in Soc Trang – The “Viking” 121st Batallion – flew 20 missions per month for 12 consecutive months.

While he was away at war, their first child, Amy Jean Wade was born at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Their second child, Jonathan Robert Wade, was born two and a half years later at Fort Hood, Texas. Soon after, Buck left the military and moved with his family to Boulder, Colorado where he became a realtor during the housing boom of the early 1970’s. They bought their first home and settled into civilian life. Buck was an active dad, taking his kids on outdoor adventures, his favorite of which was a big father/child outing to the mountains, where they hiked across the Continental Divide, appropriately named, “Get Your Ass Across the Pass.”

While in Colorado, Buck maintained his rank in the Army by serving in a reserve unit in Colorado Springs for two weeks every year, where he became interested in military planning logistics.With the rapid rise of interest rates in the early 1980’s, Buck decided to leave the real estate business, and returned to the Army, this time as a civilian in the Mobilization and Deployment division at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, he separated from his wife and worked at Ft McPherson under General Colin Powell until 2007, when he retired officially at the age of 72.

Buck stayed in Atlanta until 2019, and then moved back home to Oxford. In 2020, he returned to Colorado to live with his daughter Amy, and grandson Stephen, where he remained until his death.

He is survived by his daughter Amy Wade and her son Stephen Wade, his son Jonathan Wade and his wife Signy Judd, and their daughters Beckett Judd-Wade and Osby Judd-Wade.

Wherever Buck went, he always carried with him the spirit of his alma mater, Ole Miss. Everyone who knew and loved him, also knew the Hotty Toddy, a requisite cheer at every birthday, Thanksgiving and family gathering. He had roughly 75 ‘Ole Miss t-shirts and in his final years wore them exclusively. Buck’s energy and humor were infectious and he loved sharing and creating a good time. His life was filled with laughter, adventure, and hardship. Most of all, his life was filled with family. He was a present, steady, magnanimous, supportive, and loyal Father, Grandfather, son, brother and cousin. He and his indomitable spirit will be greatly missed.

Buck will be buried next to his sister, Margaret Jane Wade, his father Robert Brought Wade, and his mother Jane Cox Wade, at the Magnolia Cemetery of Batesville, Mississippi on May 18th, 2024.