"He looked like a Kentucky colonel and was a true, Southern gentleman," said his friend and former pastor Wayne Allen.
A native and lifelong resident of Jackson County, he was the son of the late Marcellus and Rebecca Cathey Buchanan. He was a lawyer, three-term state legislator in the 1950s and Superior Court solicitor for North Carolina's 30th Judicial District from 1967 to the late 1980s when he retired. In 1973, when North Carolina state statues changed the preferred title from solicitor to district attorney, Buchanan never complied, remaining "the Solicitor" throughout his years of service.
Ever since he was 5 years old, Buchanan was bound and determined to be a lawyer, his friends say. His father, who ran a garage and gas station in town, was called to serve on a Superior Court jury and took his young son along. Judge Felix E. Alley Sr. allowed the 5-year-old to sit next to him at the bench, and as the judge patiently explained court procedures to him, young Buchanan was hooked forever on a lifetime profession. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Buchanan began practicing law in 1949 and for a while served as the Sylva town attorney.
Throughout the region Buchanan ruled as a master storyteller. "He never told a story the same way twice," said Allen. "Each time he told it, he gave it a new rendition, some extra sparkle."
Along with Asheville Citizen writer Bob Terrell, Buchanan wrote a book of humorous stories about people in and around the courts of Western North Carolina called "Disorder in the Court!"
He also wrote instructions for his own funeral. Three years ago, Allen said, he received those handwritten instructions from Buchanan, who wanted the service "kept simple and short." Buchanan requested the song "In the Garden" be played and that Sylva attorney Jay Coward sing "The Lord's Prayer." Buchanan wrote, "Just say I've been a husband, father and pawpaw best I could and I loved them all to death."
Judge Snow affirmed that Buchanan "was a man who loved his family dearly."
"Marcellus gave life-altering opportunities to young lawyers," said Snow. "I know because I was one of those. He gave me my first job."
Another of those whose life Buchanan altered was Jones, his assistant for many years. Jones often referred to Buchanan as the "originator of mediation in the 30th Judicial District."
"He was like a daddy to me, and I got a better education with him than I would have received at any law school. There's no end to what he taught me," said Jones, who drove thousands of miles with Buchanan. Imitating that famous Buchanan wink, Jones added, "And if you ever rode with him, you know why I drove!
"Working for him was always fun and always an adventure because you never knew what he might pull next. But whenever he winked, you knew he was ready to pull something," said Jones, the first assistant any state solicitor or district attorney had.
"When Buck hired me he said every DA in the state would want to have an assistant now," Jones said. "Less than two years later, Speaker of the House Liston Ramsey passed a bill for DAs to have assistants. The judges loved it because the work we did shortened their court calendars."
"Marcellus had a heart as big as a watermelon, was generous to a fault, and always believed in helping the little people. He was always fair," Snow said.
When she first took office as mayor of Hazelwood, Mary Ann Enloe said she went to see Buchanan with discrepancies she discovered in that office.
"He read over what I gave him and looked down his glasses at me and said, 'Young lady, you don't need me, you need the SBI.' So he picked up the phone and called the appropriate agent in Raleigh. He was like that - helping people and knowing just who to call. I always considered him my friend after that," Enloe said.
Many of his friends, including Jones, describe Buchanan as "the staunchest Democrat you'll ever meet. He was a real 'yellow dog Democrat.'"
Buchanan was famous for saying, "Somebody's got to load the wagon and somebody's got to drive the mules. I'm the driver of the mules." Charles Hipps, now district attorney for the 30th Judicial District, heard it often, having learned much from the man he called "the best I've ever seen at cross examination." The Waynesville attorney was one of the first assistant solicitors hired by Buchanan.
In his book, "Disorder in the Court," Buchanan tells a story on Hipps, who was having a particularly difficult time with an SBI agent who thought he knew more about trial preparation and presentation than Hipps. During each court recess the agent would tell Hipps what his next move should be.
"Finally," Buchanan wrote in the chapter "Who's Driving," "Charles threw back his head, looked the agent in the eye and said, 'Why don't you just load the wagon, and I'll drive the team.'"
Longtime Sylva attorney Orville Coward's friendship with Buchanan dated back to high school. The two were also in law school together at Chapel Hill. Though at opposite ends of the political spectrum, he and Buchanan had a "mutual respect," he said.
"I grew up with Marcellus. He was very, very intelligent and was as worthy an opponent as I have ever seen," Coward said.
Buchanan's flamboyant courtroom style resulted from his emulation of former Solicitors John Queen of Haywood County and Thad Bryson of Bryson City, said Coward.
"All three were cut from the same mold. They had big voices and were forceful in their prosecution of criminal cases. They affected vocal procedures and an oratorical style from an earlier era," Coward said.
In writing "Disorder in the Court" with his "cousin somewhere down the line," Bob Terrell said, "Marcellus was funny and fun to be around. After hearing him give a humorous speech one evening, I told him we needed to write a book together. So he would tell the stories to his secretary, who would type them up and send them to me. I had more trouble writing that book because I laughed so much."
Terrell called Buchanan "the greatest orator I've ever heard. His oratory powers really made him a favorite in the North Carolina Senate."
The oratory powers extended over the phone lines to many a lawyer and judge. A notorious early riser, Buchanan was known to phone at 5 a.m. and loudly demand, "Why aren't you at the office working on the case?!"
Jones, who still rises at 5 a.m., thanks to Buchanan's regimen, said, "Buck developed the reputation of getting to the courthouse early and many times disposing of the cases before the judge ever arrived. He was in complete control - like Judge Snow said, 'The buck stopped with Buck.'"
Buchanan is survived by his wife, Jane Poteet Buchanan; one son, Marcellus Buchanan IV of Hayesville; one daughter, Christina Buchanan Matheson of Sylva; four grandchildren; and one brother, Francis Buchanan of Hendersonville.
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