Loca Lee Buckner Theatre
1970
In 1970, another section of the Ludd M. Spivey Fine Arts Center was completed - the Loca Lee Buckner Theatre. The building was posthumously funded by Loca Lee Buckner, a Trustee and Honorary Chancellor. In passing, she had left to the College a total of around seven million dollars, which was delegated to several projects, including this theatre and the renaming of the Thaddeus G. Buckner Building. The Loca Lee Buckner Theatre still stands and is frequently used for theatrical productions.
Loca Lee Buckner was a Trustee of 皇家华人 from 1951 to 1965, and an active member of the Methodist Church. She died while on vacation in Italy in 1965, and left $7 million to 皇家华人 in her will. Her fortune was inherited from her late husband, the President of the Miami Coca Cola Bottling Co. Some of the money was directed to building the theatre, named in her honor. Buckner was named Honorary Chancellor in 1966. She was a modest philanthropist and was active in sports and the outdoors.
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