David Frederick Buck's Obituary
David Frederick Buck, 21, cherished youngest son of Gene and Lori Buck of Reston, died peacefully at home July 30, 2010, surrounded by his family. David was the beloved brother of Nate Buck of Washington, DC, and Andrew Buck of Fairfax. David had battled rhabdomyosarcoma for more than two years.
He was born August 5, 1988, in Arlington and graduated in 2007 from Herndon High School. He played bass drum in the Pride of Herndon marching band and percussion in the wind ensemble. He also sang baritone with the vocal jazz ensemble and performed in the school’s 2004 production of “Les Miserables.” As a student at Forest Edge Elementary and Langston Hughes Middle schools, David competed on several Odyssey of the Mind teams and co-anchored the schools’ TV morning news shows. During the summers he swam with the Autumnwood Piranhas of the Reston Swim Team Association, and in the summer of 2007, he interned at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock (MD) Division.
David was a chemical engineering major at the University of Delaware, with minors in chemistry, physics and mathematics. Despite ongoing cancer treatment at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, David completed three semesters at UD and was named to the dean’s list each time. The College of Engineering honored him with the McCoy Award for academic excellence in the face of challenging life circumstances in May 2009.
David was employed in January 2010 at the university’s Institute of Energy Conversion, where he worked with solar cells. He was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Alpha Lambda Delta national honor society and the UD Student Television Network. He loved music and photography, and his other interests included nuclear energy, space elevators and motorcycles.
Survivors also include his grandparents, George Buck of Ionia, MI, and Bob and Nancy Decker of Endwell, NY; his half-sisters, Lys Buck of Brown Deer, WI, and Lene Kiester of Chapel Hill, NC; his aunts and uncles, Jan and Den Arnold of Ionia, Kaye Buck of McHenry, IL, Shari and Brad Peck of Canandaigua, NY, and Carol Robbins of Dallas, PA; and many cousins, including Betsy and Frank Schindler of Baltimore, MD. His grandmother, Claire Buck, died in 2001.
Friends and family are invited to a memorial service August 21 at 3 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna.
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