Eleanor Buck

Eleanor Jayne Buck, singer, pianist, and composer, passed away on February 13 after a long illness. Ellie, a second generation Californian, was born in Los Angeles in 1929, and attended University High School and later USC, where she majored in music education. Married in 1950, she and her husband, Norton B. Buck, an electrical engineer and jazz musician, moved to Pacific Palisades where they built their home in 1952. During the 1950’s, Ellie studied and performed many classical soprano roles in semi-professional opera within the Los Angeles area. After retiring from operatic performance in the 1960’s, she turned more to composition, and became interested in the music and religious teachings of India. She composed, performed, and recorded many songs that were inspired by Hindu chants and devotionals. During this time, and over the next three decades, she taught voice and piano privately, and held semi-annual recitals for her students. Later in life, her interest turned to hymn writing. She was an active member of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, at whose annual meetings she performed. Three of her hymns were published. Other devotional compositions she wrote were arranged and performed at churches in the Los Angeles area, as well as elsewhere in the country. Ellie was also active in the Assistance League of Southern California and she was programs director and president of its Fine Arts Auxiliary during the 1990’s. Ellie remarried late in life to architect Robert G. Bundy Jr., and the two were able to share ten happy years until his death in 2014. Ellie was well known for her warm and loving personality, which she shared with everyone she met. She made friends easily and often, and children loved her. Every Christmas morning, she would open her home in the Santa Monica Mountains to all in the neighborhood and serve “Breakfast for Jesus”. She was admired and cherished by all who knew her. Ellie is survived by her son John A. Buck, of Marietta, GA, daughter in law Angela, and two granddaughters, Amanda and Olivia --- in addition to many other “sons” and “daughters” who were her students and friends over the years.