Obituary of John William Buchanan

John William Buchanan died Thursday at the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, Ky. He was 72. Coach Buchanan was born on August 16, 1943 to Reuel & Sue Buchanan of London, KY. He grew up in London and moved to Lawrenceville, IL in his junior and senior years of HS. A graduate of Millikin University in 1965, he was a letterman and member of the football team, including the undefeated 1961 Big Blue. Coach Buchanan was a history teacher and assistant football coach at Lakeview HS (Decatur, IL) & Lafayette HS (Lexington, KY) before becoming the head football coach and history teacher at Boyle County HS and then Mercer County HS. At Boyle County HS he started the wrestling program & at Mercer he was the head track coach. During his coaching career, he was an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Later, he would begin the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Football Coaches Clinic, which became one of the top clinics in the state of Kentucky. He later served as the Sales Manager at Wade Motor Company in Danville before becoming part owner of John-Clay Chevrolet in Lancaster, KY. In 2001, he returned to education as a special education teacher at Danville HS. He retired from teaching in the spring of 2014. Coach Buchanan was an active member of Centenary United Methodist Church as a Sunday School Teacher and as the organizer of Tailgate Sunday, an outreach to the Boyle County and Danville Football programs each fall. Coach Buchanan is survived by his wife, Suzie; daughter Becky Holt (Woody) and son David Buchanan (Stephanie); his grandchildren John Combs Buchanan, Emma Buchanan, Trosper Buchanan, Jared Holt (Mackenzie), & Joey Holt; his mom, Sue Buchanan; his sisters Emily Millbyer (Terry) and Susan Buchanan. Visitation for Coach Buchanan will be Monday evening, October 5th at Ransdell Funeral Chapel, Harrodsburg, from 5-7 pm. His funeral will be conducted by: Mike Voigts and Quentin Schultz, 1 pm, Tuesday, October 6th at Centenary United Methodist Church, 1441 Perryville Road, Danville, burial will follow in A.R. Dyche Memorial Park, Cemetery A Street, London, KY. Pallbearers will be: Tim Horn, Monty Wilkerson, Lee Glasscock, Larry French, Eric Gibson, Jimmy Ashford and Dickie Mayes. Donations are directed to the Centenary United Methodist Church, 1441 Perryville St., Danville, KY 40422.