12/14/2022
Charles "Bucky" Johnson
Bucky was born January 14th, 1952 to Al and Helen Johnson in Idaho Falls. He is survived by his wife, Robin, son Will, daughters Brooke and Amber, their husbands Clint and Rob; the three pig eyed twirps, Breearoni, Kaylie, and the Jakester, his brother Rawhide, sister Bev and their spouses Rena and Steve. He is also survived by Robin’s mom, Darlene, and her siblings Glynis, Tina (Dave) and Dan (Deb).
Growing up on the Green River in Wyoming he spent his days running like a wild coyote pup, hunting arrow heads and small game, doing chores, and home schooling. Everyday was special. There was so much freedom. Bucky had the best stories from these days, most not appropriate to share. Some might have thought they were living in the past with no water and no power but even though there was work to do, the days were easy. On a boring day you could find him hitching the milk cow’s calf to his little red wagon which might have landed him in the manure pile on an occasion. Bucky liked Wyoming because there were no boundaries, no trees cluttering up the scenery, he could ride all day and never come to a fence.
Bucky spent some time at ISU in Pocatello. During this time he lived with his cousin, Roger. They weren’t too sure that they would have a lot in common but during their year as roommates they found they had pretty similar views for a ranch kid and a city kid. They became fast friends and brothers for life. Between the liberal professors and the terrible Pocatello traffic, Bucky decided that he was more destined for the ranch life than the college life.
Bucky and Shawna Walker were married in 1973, during the six years of their marriage they had one son, Will. Bucky spent a lot of this time working for Jim Hagenbarth on the ranch. Will was always happy to tag along whether it was long days riding or work trips spent in hotels eating junk food. Bucky was great at making work days fun and it never hurt that after a long week you could always look forward to a drive to the store to use the phone and buy candy.
Bucky and Robin started their life together with Will in 1980. Their early years were spent splitting their time between their two favorite places; The Sheridan Ranch in Kilgore and Hamer City Home. He spent these years buying and selling cattle for Taylor Lawrence. A highlight of his time on the Sheridan Ranch was getting to meet President Carter, not too many cowboys can say they took a helicopter ride with the president. In the spring of 1988 they decided to call Hell MT home…oh we mean Lima. The wind blew hard and there were some cold winters but they had some good years turning their place into a home with their girls, Brooke and Amber. He cowboyed for a lot of local ranches, was a water wizard and in his spare time built a barn with his helpers, Amber and their favorite cat Tiger. He trained quite a few good horses in that barn. After the barn was built, he went to work managing the Feedlot for Blaine Larsen. He had a lot of good years with a lot of good buddies working at that feedlot and appreciated the opportunity to get some work out of the kids. Several years after the feedlot sold, Bucky had the opportunity to go back to work for the Larsen Family buying and selling hay for Richard and helping run the hay shed. Once again he made a lot of good friends; he was good at that. After his cancer diagnosis, Bucky found strength in going to work everyday and with the support of Richard and his crew; he was able to work up to his last days. During this time he also found the energy to continue his night job, makin’ stirrups. Bucky believed that work was some of the best medicine.
His greatest joys in life were simple things. Any time with the grandkids. Shooting pistols in the pasture. Pop time with Robin. HIs old 58 Chevy, Black Bart. And brandy time with friends.
Bucky passed away peacefully in Idaho Falls surrounded by family on December 13, 2022. Services will be held at the Lima Community School’s multipurpose room on Sunday, December 18th at 1:00. The family would like to invite Bucky’s friends to tell stories and reminisce over a potluck meal at the Peat following the memorial.
