Buck was born in Coshocton, Ohio in 1938. He grew up in greater Detroit, Michigan. He met his wife of 64 years, Marie Lindquist, in Birmingham High School. In 1960 he earned a BA degree from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. In 1963 he earned a law degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Buck and Marie were married in Denver in 1960. They returned to Michigan for Buck to begin law school. Upon graduation, they packed up and came back to Denver with their first born, Ann (1963). In 1964, Tom was born and Buck continued to practice law in Denver for another 11 years. In 1975 he joined his law client’s restaurant business, Village Inn Pancake House, Inc., as an Executive VP. Eventually, Buck found himself running the company as President. He soon rebranded Village Inn to the corporate entity VICORP Restaurants, Inc. and took the company public. He served as CEO and Chairman of the Board until 2001.
Buck loved to work and was quick to offer his help and guidance to a number of friends, colleagues, and business associates. Buck served as a Board member for Land Title Guaranty Corp.; Land Title Insurance Corp.; Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Colorado; The Denver Zoo, Great Outdoors Colorado, and as Chairman of the Board at Colorado National Bank-Boulevard. Along with fundraising for Boy Scouts of America and offering apprenticeships at VICORP to students in the DU School of Business.
Buck served as a member of the Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank, Tenth District; in Kansas City, as Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association; as chair of the Legal Services to the Poor Committee of the Denver Bar Association; as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cleo Wallace Centers; as Vice Chairman of the Explorer for the Denver Area Boy Scouts; as Town Attorney for Empire, Colorado; and as an elected commissioner of the Cherry Hills Fire Protection District.
Buck was a long time member of Cherry Hills Country Club and served in countless ‘director’ positions as well as President of the Club twice, in 1986 and 1999.
Buck was an avid golfer and played regularly at CHCC and Castle Pines Golf Club. He enjoyed skiing, playing softball, and hanging out with his buddies. They always had a great time.
Buck is survived by his wife, Marie, two children, Ann Lantz (Jeff), and Tom (Yvonne). He leaves 4 grandchildren and a grandson in-law.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Cherry Hills Country Club on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to a charity of your choosing.
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