#PeopleOfPeace:
Professor Emerita of English, Dr. Sally Buckner, Passes Away
William Peace University is deeply saddened by the passing of a former faculty member, Professor Emerita of English, Dr. Sally Buckner. Buckner taught literature and writing at Peace for 28 years before her retirement in 1998, and remained an active and committed supporter in many ways after retiring. This past May, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities at Commencement in recognition of her dedication and service to Peace. Throughout her tenure, her impact on students, faculty, and staff was immeasurable and she will be greatly missed.
“She was a passionate and dedicated educator and poet and will be dearly missed by her friends and colleagues here at Peace.”
Dr. Buckner, a published poet and Statesville native, earned her Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill and her BA from WCUNC (now UNC Greensboro). Buckner taught at every level of education, from kindergarten through graduate school, and published fiction and poetry in a number of journals and anthologies, including “Voices from Home,” “Crucible” and “Out of Line,” and authored a poetry collection, “Strawberry Harvest.” Buckner also edited two anthologies, “Our Word, Our Ways” and “Words and Witness: 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry.” Buckner’s papers, “Sally Buckner Papers, 1963-2004,” reside in The Southern Historical Collection, Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library.
In 2016, Sally received the Order of the Longleaf Pine from the State of North Carolina. She was also a longtime donor to the University, participating in the Kresge Challenge during the POP Campaign and was on the Sesquicentennial Campaign Committee in 2007.
“Sally was an author, a poet, an editor, a mother, and a grandmother, but most of all she was a teacher,” said Charles Duncan, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs. “And in her teaching – whether it was in the classroom or out in the world – she was smart, gracious, and kind, but also tough in just the right way. She was a gift to all she touched, and Peace was lucky to have known her.”
“She was a gift to all she touched, and Peace was lucky to have known her.”
“The impact of Dr. Buckner on the Peace community, alumni and the region cannot be overstated,” said Brian C. Ralph, Ph.D., President of William Peace University. “She was a passionate and dedicated educator and poet and will be dearly missed by her friends and colleagues here at Peace.”
Dr. Buckner was 86.
The full obit is here. http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Sally-Buckner&lc=4232&pid=187772960&mid=7713099
Funeral Service Information:
Friday, January 19, 2018
1:00 p.m.
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church
1801 Hillsborough St.,
Raleigh, NC
Reprinted with permission from https://www.peace.edu/news/peopleofpeace-professor-emerita-english-dr-sally-buckner-passes-away/.
