Obituary of Fred Harris Buckels

Fred Harris Buckels was born on October 30, 1934 in Houston, Texas to Lalla Mae Stricklin Buckels and Hobert Oliver Buckels.  He died on July 5, 2018 in Florida while on vacation with his family.  He is survived by his daughters Evelyn Louise Baldaulf, son-in-law Gary, and Elaine Erna Damewood, son-in-law Larry along with grandchildren Michael Baldauf, wife Megan; Chris Baldauf, Matthew Metcalf, wife Jacque; Mark Metcalf, wife Mallory; Ryan Metcalf, and wife Calanne, Sara Damewood, husband Toby Tzur; Jarrod Damewood and great-grandchildren Caleb Hutchison, Elliot Baldauf, Bella Metcalf, Alyssa Metcalf, Chloe Baldauf and Cole Tzur.  He leaves behind a brother Arthur Braden Buckels, wife Jonell along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his wonderful wife Erna Hildegard Buckels in 2015 and was married for 59 years.

The family moved to Baytown shortly after Fred was born and he graduated from Robert E Lee High School.  During high school years, Fred was a boxer and on February 11, 1954 he fought well known Golden Glove boxer Roy Harris.  In the first round he sent Harris to the canvass for a count of 8 with a left hook resulting in a bloody nose but Fred lost the regional title quest.  He joined the US Air Force on March 17, 1954 and became crew chief on a C-47. While in the service he flew all over Europe, Africa and Egypt.  He met and married his German sweetheart Erna Roedig in Frankfurt, Germany.  They had 2 daughters before returning to the US in 1958. 

Fred held many jobs some of which included working at a furniture store and Bob’s Ice House until finally landing a job delivering Schlitz & Coors beer for Stefani Distributers throughout Baytown, La Porte, Pasadena and South Houston. He retired in 1989, when Fred and Erna moved to Temple Texas.

Fred was an accomplished artist specializing in oil paintings and held many One Man Shows.  After moving to Temple, his hobby turned to working with rocks and carving Totem Poles from trees that were dying. He was featured on a local TV show in Temple where he was known as the Rock Man for all his works of art.

Fred was a faithful member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Baytown. While in Temple, Fred was a member of Covenant Lutheran Church until they moved to Pearland, Texas in Feb 2014.  Fred then became a member of New Life Lutheran Church.

Fred was a wonderful husband, father, Pepa, uncle and friend to so many.  His love of God, life and family was clearly a cornerstone of his values.  He will be remembered as a man of character, always with a smile on his face and a bit of mischievousness.  He will be truly missed by the many four legged and winged friends that he adopted along his life’s path.

Fred lived his last days celebrating with his family including grandkids and great-grandkids at Walt Disney World in Orlando.  His family will have fond memories of the fun that he was having riding all the rides just like a kid.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Fred’s honor to New Life Lutheran Church or VFW Post 7109 in Pearland, Texas.

Services for Fred will be held at Clayton Funeral Home, 5530 W. Broadway, Pearland, Texas 77581.  The visitation will be held Thursday, July 12, 2018 for 6:00 until 8:00 pm.  The funeral service will be held Friday, July 13, 2018 at 10:00 am at the funeral home with Pastor Brian Gigee officiating.  Interment will follow at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Texas.