Gurdon Hall Buck

Gurdon Hall Buck died at his home in Glastonbury on Tuesday (May 6, 2008), after a long struggle with prostate cancer. The son of the late Richard Saltonstall Buck and Aloha Hall Buck, Don was born in Wethersfield in 1936 moving to Glastonbury at the age of six months and, except for his years away at school and his service with the United States Coast Guard, Don continued to be a life-long resident of Glastonbury. A graduate of Loomis Chaffee School and Lehigh University, Don found his true calling at the University of Pennsylvania Law School graduating in 1965. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1965, the United States District Court of Connecticut in 1965, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1967. He first began his practice with others and then formed the firm of Byrne & Buck with Thomas P. Byrne, which later became Byrne, Buck & Steiner until he merged his practice into then Robinson, Robinson & Cole in 1979. Don became the senior partner in the Real Estate Group and Chair of the Common Interest Community Group of Robinson & Cole LLP in Hartford before his retirement. Early on in his career he demonstrated his characteristic willingness to be an active participant and leader in numerous law-related and community undertakings. He served on the Town of Glastonbury Planning and Zoning Commission and was a consultant to the Interfaith Housing Board in the early 1970s finding property and building partners for a senior housing project in Glastonbury beginning a career-long interest in affordable housing efforts throughout the State of Connecticut He was chairman of the Capital Region Task Force - Governor's Task Force on Housing (1970-1973), Chairman of the Regional Housing Council (1973-1975) and Commissioner, Special Legislative Commission on Planning and Zoning Law (1970). He served as a director of Connecticut Preservation Action and was a member and leader in a score or more of local, regional and national organizations including several terms as the President of the Glastonbury Historical Society and Deacon in the South Glastonbury Congregational Church. He was elected to the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) in 1983 and served as a Governor of the College and liaison to the Board of Governors of the Committee on Common Interest Communities. He was active in the Community Association's Institute and served as President of its Research Foundation for two terms from 1980-1982. In 1982, CAI elected him to the Hall of Fame and in 1987 it awarded him the Byron R. Hank Award for his contributions to education, literature and service to CAI members. He was a member of ACREL'S Board of Directors (1993-1998) and on the Executive Board in 1996. He served as general counsel since 1986 of the Connecticut Title Association. He greatly enjoyed his membership in the Anglo-American Real Property Institute from 1989 and especially his participation on its Board of Governors since 1996. He was a member of the Connecticut Home Builders Association and helped create the Developers Council. Gurdon H. Buck was the Real Estate Editor of the Connecticut Bar Journal and was an active member of Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, serving as its president for many years and ultimately winning the Connecticut Law Tribune's Pro Bono Award in 2002 for his contributions in this area. He devoted substantial time to Connecticut Bar Association activities ultimately becoming Chair of the Real Estate Section and serving at various times as Chair of the Opinions Committee, chair of the Special Committee on Lawyers as Title Insurance Agents, Chair of the Public Service Recognition Committee, Chair of the Ethics Committee and a member of the Pro Bono Committee. He was especially active in the American Bar Association's Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, serving as Group Chair of the American Bar Association's six committees on Condominiums, Cooperatives, and Associations of Co-Owners. He was Co-Chair of the Committee on Committees and a member of the Planning Committee and By-Laws Committee of the Section on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law of the American Bar Association. He reveled in the intellectual pursuit of what some others might find arcane. For example, he served as an advisor to the American Law Institute's 'Restatement of the Law (Third) -- Property (Servitudes). He often said he 'grooved on servitudes.' He was admitted to the American Planning Association's American Institute of Certified Planners by acclimation and distinguished himself throughout his career not only as a preeminent authority nationally and internationally on common interest ownership communities, but also as someone with great skill in integrating public and private regulation of land. He was a prolific speaker and writer, participating in numerous American Law Institute?American Bar Association courses on condominiums and planned unit development and was a regular member of the Community Association Institute's Community Association Law Report Seminar faculty. Gurdon H. Buck was principal co-author of the Connecticut Condominium Manual, the Connecticut Common Interest Ownership Manual, and the Alaska Common Interest Ownership Manual. He also co-authored the Lenders and Attorney's Guide to the Common Interest Ownership Act (ABA 1989). His seminal work was the multi-volume treatise, Condominium Development, published by Callaghan, which became instantly recognized as the leading authority on the subject and has had a lasting impact on the development of condominium law and governance in this country. Mr. Buck was also a licensed real estate broker and Realtor?. He virtually dominated the condominium and common interest ownership community field in Connecticut and had an unprecedented involvement in common interest ownership communities elsewhere as the author of several hundred documentation packages for common interest communities in eight states, including over forty marina communities and several dozen mixed use industrial and commercial condominiums and planned unit developments. Gurdon H. Buck loved his work, which was evident in all that he did, whether representing clients, writing articles, or lecturing. He was an extraordinary mentor to many, gifted teacher, consummate professional, widely published and highly respected author, leader in his field, and most importantly, a loving husband, father and brother, as well as a great friend to all fortunate enough to know him. Don is survived by his wife Martha Finder Buck, his three children, Keith Saltonstall Buck of Villa Rica, Georgia, Frances Josephine (Fini) McGlinchy and her husband Paul of Old Mystic, Daniel Winthrop Buck of Redmond, WA, and his stepson, Sean William Yellig of Scottsdale, AZ. Don is also survived by his sister, Suzanne Kimball Buck of Chelsea, MA, three grandchildren, Captain Jillian Narcum of Fort Hood, TX, Makenzie Frances Buck and Brian Keith McGlinchy and his two nieces Jecca of New York, NY and Kay Hopper of Buffalo, NY. Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, May 13 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Church Hall of the South Glastonbury Congregational Church, Main & High Streets, South Glastonbury. A memorial service in Don's honor will be held at the Church on Sunday, June 1 at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family is asking donations may be made in Don's memory to the Great Meadows Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 171, Glastonbury, CT 06033 or the Connecticut Bar Association Real Property Section Memorial Fund, c/o The University of Connecticut Law School Foundation, Inc., 45 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105-2213. D'Esopo Funeral Chapel of Wethersfield is assisting the family with arrangements. For on line expressions of sympathy to the family, please visit www.desopo.com