Buck Small

Otha Burris “Buck” Small, 95, passed away Monday, April 07, 2014. He was born September 12, 1918 in Union County to the late Andrew Carl Lessie Mable Smith Small. He is preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Frances Richardson Small. Funeral services will be held 2:00 PM Wednesday, April 9, 2014 in Gordon Funeral Chapel, 1904 Lancaster Ave. Monroe , NC 28112. The family will visit from 1:00 PM until 1:45 PM prior to the service. Burial will be in Lakeland Memorial Park. He graduated from Wingate High School in 1937, where he was voted “Must Studious” and “Best All Around” by his senior class. After graduation he worked with a building contractor carrying bricks for 50 cents an hour, and said it was “the hardest work he’d ever done in his life” Later he worked in the Sinclair Service Station. For years he and his brothers ran the Pure Oil Station on the corner of Church Franklin St. in 1948 Buck sold his share, returned to school to earn a degree in Radio and Television Technology from Coyne Electrical School in Chicago, Illinois. In July of 1961, he graduated from Cleveland Institute of Radio Electronics and then earned a First Class Federal Communications Commission license. He also earned a degree in Industrial Electronics in 1964 from CPCC. He worked briefly as a broadcast engineer for WSOC-TV in Charlotte and held memberships in the National Society of Broadcast Engineers and in Charlotte 45 of Charlotte Broadcast Engineers. He was a member of Central United Methodist Church and served several terms on the Administrative Board. He was a member of the Benton Heights Lions Club for about eleven years. He enjoyed genealogy and complied and published several family histories. He served as a Director of the Carolinas Genealogical Society. Buck is survived by two daughters Belinda Sims of Monroe, and Anita Small of Charlotte, a sister Shirley Ghant of Monroe, and one grandchild. Memorials may be made to a charity of donor’s choice. Online condolences may be made at www.gordonfuneralservice.com