Henry Francis

Henry A. Francis, 83, of Lincoln died on May 21, 2022 from complications of lung cancer. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Phoebe Lee Francis, his son Andrew and his wife Jennifer Lynch, and granddaughter little Phoebe, all of Boston; two brothers, Bartlett Francis of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Robert Colgate Francis of Port Townsend, Wash.; nieces Kirsten Francis of Encinitas, Calif., and Karina Francis of Los Angeles; and nephews Walter Allen Francis of Seattle and Craig Francis of Olympia, Wash.

Henry was born in Pittsfield on October 17, 1938. In 1944 the family moved to Santa Barbara., Calif. He later attended the Groton School, graduated from Harvard in 1960, and received a PhD in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London. Upon his return to the U.S., he worked at Draper Labs in Cambridge. His interest in things mechanical lasted a lifetime. He was able to take almost any sort of device, disassemble it, and put it back together in working condition, often achieving what seemed to others an impossible task.

His avocation in life was traditional jazz. Originally a trumpet player, one day he decided he wasn’t playing well, threw down the instrument and decided to take up piano instead, despite never having had a piano lesson. He played with bands in college and during summer vacations while working on a ranch in Wyoming. Later he became known as one of the prime exponents of the Harlem Stride School of piano playing.

In 1991 he founded a seven-piece band, The Swing Legacy. The band mostly played the music of the 1930s and 1940s which included many songs from The Great American Songbook, many with Henry’s arrangements. The Swing Legacy played at weddings, dances, concerts and parties in the Boston area and beyond. He played many solo gigs, as well as duos with John Clark on clarinet. His music will be missed by all who heard him, especially by his wife Phoebe, who listened to him practicing the songs every evening when she was preparing dinner.

Henry was an outdoor enthusiast and spent many enjoyable hours biking, rowing on the local rivers, and walking the trails of Lincoln with his dog. He was acutely aware of his surroundings, especially the birds and trees which he learned to identify. He planted many trees on his property in Lincoln and carefully watched them mature. He never gave up the battle with the squirrels, and enjoyed devising methods to outwit the critters.

Henry will be sorely missed by all who knew him. His final years were greatly enhanced by the joy of being a grandparent. His happiest moments were spent in the company of his beloved granddaughter, Phoebe, now seven years old, who called him “HenPa.”

A celebration of his life will be held in the fall. Donations to his memory may be made to the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, 145 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln MA 01773 or to a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap St., Concord, MA 01742 (978-369-3388).

James Buckalew

James Kenneth Buckalew, 88, of Lincoln, died May 24 following a long illness.

He was born on October 24, 1933 in Peru, Ind., the oldest of three children. He attended public schools in Peru and distinguished himself in high school as a championship debater Jim joined the U.S. Army in 1954 and after his discharge from active duty was an Army reservist until 1962. Jim returned to school and graduated with a B.S. in 1958 from Indiana State University. From 1958-1960 he pursued graduate studies and worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Hawaii. He received his M.A. in 1961 from Indiana State, where he wrote his thesis on his experiences with the potential of educational television in Hawaii. He received his Ph.D. in 1961 from the University of Iowa, where his dissertation research focused on the role of television news anchors as gatekeepers.

During most of his graduate study and for decades afterwards, Jim worked as a practicing journalist and broadcaster, from his first radio assignments as a reporter for WBOW radio in Terre Haute, Indiana, KGU Radio in Honolulu, and WSUI radio in Iowa City, to his last at WCBQ radio in San Diego. He also had many commissioned assignments for newspapers covering elections, reviewing plays, and reporting on sporting events. He was popular as a public address announcer, a role that he filled at San Diego State University basketball games, and he co-hosted a television series devoted to thoroughbred racing on the cable network Prime Ticket.

Jim joined the University of Iowa in 1963 as an instructor in journalism and head of radio/TV news. In 1967 he joined the faculty of San Diego State University, where he retired as a full professor of journalism in 1999. But his love of the classroom led him to continue to teach at small colleges in the
Los Angeles area until he finally retired at the age of 80. During his San Diego State career, he published numerous scholarly articles as well a book with colleague Tim Wulfemeyer, Mass Media in the New Millennium.

Jim’s hobby for most of his adult life was thoroughbred racing. He was fortunate to live near enough two famous race courses, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Santa Anita Park, to become deeply involved in the sport as a member of a small group of investors who owned several successful horses, including Reason to Study and Study to Pass. He was also very adept at forecasting the results of races and won the Pick Six on more than one occasion; consequently, he was frequently consulted by newcomers hoping to learn how to “invest” at the racetrack.

Jim will be remembered by all who knew him as a kind, honorable, and generous man, a devoted teacher, and a loving father and husband. He was preceded in death by his parents, Homer Buckalew and Marguerite Anderson Buckalew of Peru, Ind.; his brother Charles Buckalew of Terre Haute, Ind., and his daughter-in-law, Gina Grandolfo of Tustin, Calif.

Survivors include his wife, Margaret McLaughlin of Lincoln, and his sons Michael Buckalew of Tustin, Calif., Thomas Buckalew of San Diego, and Robert Buckalew of Redding, Calif. and their mother, Karen Dempsey of San Diego; and sons Brett Buckalew and Kevin Buckalew of Los Angeles and their mother, Sally Hixon of San Diego.

James is also survived by his stepson, Malcolm McLaughlin and his wife, Julie Lamirande McLaughlin of Lucas, Texas, and his stepdaughter, Julia Cody Walkup and her husband Ward Gale Walkup IV of Lincoln; grandsons Shane and Lucas Buckalew of Redding, Calif., and their mother, Darcy Kelley-Buckalew; grandson Nicholas Buckalew of Tustin, Calif.; step-grandson Jackson McLaughlin of Lucas, Texas, and step-granddaughters Lila McLaughlin of Lucas, Texas and Kathryn Walkup of Lincoln.

Jim is also survived by his sister Joyce Buckalew Whittenberger and her husband Steven, of Boerne, Texas, sister Risa Buckalew Utley and her husband Michael of Nashville, Tenn., and sister-in-law Nancy Buckalew of Terre Haute, Ind.

Services and burial with military honors for James will be held at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne. An online celebration of his life will follow later. In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 234 Outlet Pointe Boulevard, Suite A, Columbia, S.C. 29210-5667.

Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord. Click here to see his online guestbook.