Gene Buckingham UNION CITY, IN -- Gene Buckingham,

Gene Buckingham UNION CITY, IN -- Gene Buckingham, 82, of Union City, Indiana, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2025. Born March 14, 1943, in Union City to Ray and Edith Buckingham, Gene was raised in a family deeply rooted in service and tradition. His early youth was spent in Union City before the family moved to Delaware, Ohio, when his father took over leadership of Oak Grove Cemetery. Ray Buckingham had also managed Union City Cemetery and was a respected civic leader. Gene grew up surrounded by the cemetery profession and local politics, becoming a fifth-generation cemeterian and carrying forward a family legacy of care and community engagement wherever he lived and worked. A proud Eagle Scout and graduate of Willis High School in Delaware, he attended Ball State University and completed his B.S. in Business Administration at Franklin University. He went on to assist – and eventually succeed – his father in leading and modernizing Oak Grove Cemetery. In 1983, he relocated his family to Dayton, Ohio, to become Executive Director of Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum, a position he held for 23 years. He became well known nationally in the death care industry and was credited with a long list of operational, historical, and capital improvement achievements. He was appointed to the Ohio Cemetery Ethics Committee by the Ohio Attorney General and served as President of the Ohio Association of Cemetery Superintendents and Officials. Gene was also deeply involved in civic life. He served as President of both the Delaware City Council and the Arcanum Village Council, and held trustee roles with numerous organizations, including the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park, Patterson Homestead, Rubicon Park Business District, Franklin University Alumni Association, Delaware City Airport Commission, and Grady Memorial Hospital. He served as President of the Delaware Jaycees – who named him one of “Ohio’s Five Outstanding Young Men” – and was active in Rotary, serving as President of the Delaware chapter and a Paul Harris Fellow in the Dayton chapter. Gene was especially proud to have spearheaded the installation of a bronze statue honoring President Rutherford B. Hayes in downtown Delaware, a project he initiated and saw through to its unveiling in 2019. Outside of his professional and civic work, Gene had a lifelong love of history and genealogy. He delighted in tracing and sharing stories of his colonial and pioneer ancestors, who helped settle early Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana, and fought in the American Revolution. He also enjoyed rooting for the Indiana Hoosiers – a tradition passed down from his father – and was a loyal fan of the Cincinnati Reds. Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Edith, and his sisters Beverly Hinds and Barbara Buckingham. He is survived by his wife, Debbie; his sisters, Claire Nacca and Susan Chronaberry; his children, Cynthia Walters, Shari Buckingham, Ryan Buckingham, and Steven Buckingham; and six grandchildren. Interment will take place at Union City Cemetery in a private family service. Arrangements by Zechar Bailey Funeral Home Greenville, Ohio. Condolences for the family may be sent to www.zecharbailey.com .