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Robert Puckett


 

 

Robert Edward (Bud) Puckett passed away on July 1, 2021, in the 93rd year of his life.

His family wants to express their appreciation and gratitude for the compassionate and excellent care Bud received from the staff in the Ewing Wing of John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa.

Bud was born to Edward Truman Puckett and Edith Emma McCoy in Lindsey, Calif., on Nov. 6, 1927. His early life was spent in and around the many fruit packing houses in the Fresno Valley. Those were tough depression years and life was hard. The family moved to O’Neals, Calif., and then to Coarsegold, Calif.

Bud enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1945. On his first leave he and Marie Collins were married in Madera, Calif., on June 23, 1945. He served in the Pacific until the war ended, and stayed on to guard high-profile Japanese prisoners in Guam. Bud served in the Korean War and a tour of duty in Okinawa, Japan. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1964 as a gunny sergeant. Bud was a young man (37 years old) when he retired from the USMC and he worked as a horseshoer out of Vista, Calif., until he made is way back to the hill county.

 

 

In the early 1980s, Marie and Bud moved for the last time to Mariposa where he started his own business making and selling custom bits, spurs and jewelry. Bud was formally recognized in 1991 by the Board of Supervisors of Mariposa County for keeping Western traditions alive.

Bud is preceded in death by his wife, Helen Marie Collins Puckett; grandson, KC Puckett; and parents, Ed and Edith Puckett.

He is survived by his four children: William Edward (Bill) Puckett of Chapala, Mexico, Patrick Puckett of Weldon, Calif., Barbara (Puckett) Belknap of Juneau, Alaska, and Kathy Puckett of Aztec, N.M.

Bud was loved deeply by his grandchildren: Richard Puckett of Boise, Idaho, Mica (Puckett) Hoeltge of El Paso, Tex., Will Belknap of Juneau, Alaska; Amy Belknap of Darrington, Wash., KC Puckett (deceased) of Washington, Tonia (Puckett) Boespflug of Saint Helens, Ore., Katie Taylor of Bayfield, Colo., and John Hardesty of Las Vegas, Nev.

Bud has 12 great-grandchildren and a few great-great-grandchildren. In addition, “Uncle Bud” was loved beyond measure by our Wisconsin family.

Visitation was at the Mariposa Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 6 and burial was Wednesday July 7, 2021 at the St. Joseph Cemetery in Mariposa.

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