Grocer Jack Buchanan didn't know how to say "No.” It was that inability that made him such a community leader, one that will be missed by many.
Advertisement
Buchanan, 86, died Friday.
Steve Buchanan said his father was a man of high integrity who instilled the importance of hard work and courtesy in everyone he met.
"He was willing to do just about anything for anyone,” Buchanan said.
Steve Buchanan said he attributes his success as a businessman to his father's teachings. "He's the one who laid down the basics, the business ethics and how to deal with the community,” he said.
Jack Buchanan was born Dec. 8, 1920, and by age 10 he was working in the meat department of his father's Oklahoma City grocery store. After World War II, he went on to operate his own Buchanan Food Mart.
The Buchanan family closed its last grocery store in 2000, but not before Jack Buchanan made an impression on young workers such as Steve Turner. Turner worked at one of the five Buchanan Food Marts for three years during high school.
"It was just an incredible experience for all the young men who worked there,” Turner said. "(Jack Buchanan) had a real serving heart.”
Turner attributes the way he has decided to raise his family to his former boss.
"I think if our parents would have known the value of the morals he was teaching us, they would have paid him,” Turner said. "We're just grateful his family shared him with us.”
Buchanan was a founding member of the Southwest Kiwanis Club. He donated money and time to various groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Buchanan also served as director and treasurer of the Oklahoma Retail Grocers Association as well as the merchandising committee for the National Grocers Association for two years.
Buchanan is survived by his wife Pauline and two sons and daughters-in-law: Steve and his wife, Cathy, of Oklahoma City, and John and his wife, Carol Beth, of Midlothian, Va. He also leaves behind a sister, Ruth Battles of Oklahoma City, and four grandchildren.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Trinity Church of the Nazarene, 7301 S Walker.
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
1
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).