William Barclay Buchanan

William Barclay Buchanan passed away peacefully on May 31, 2025, after five years of battling prostate cancer. He was 89 years old.
Bill was born in Peekskill New York, on August 23, 1935, the fifth of eight children of Alvin and Florence Buchanan. The family was raised in a large Victorian house overlooking the Hudson River purchased by his great grandfather Alexander, just north of the town of Buchanan. The village of Buchanan was, in fact, named after Alexander Fordyce Buchanan, who moved his oil cloth factory to the town in 1872.
Bill attended the University of Rochester where he graduated with distinction in optical engineering. Upon graduating, Bill entered the U.S. Navy, spending three years as an engineering officer on an amphibious ship and two years as a research scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. Subsequently, he earned a master's and doctoral degree in engineering from the George Washington University in Washington DC. He then joined the MIT Operations Evaluation Group (later known as the Center for Naval Analyses) where he was involved in the analysis of naval weapon systems and operations. In 1982, he joined the Institute for Defense Analyses where he conducted studies of military operations in Europe and the Middle East. He remained with IDA until his retirement in 2000.
Bill married Geraldine Lombardo from Rochester New York in 1957, and the marriage produced five children: William Jr., Robert, Dana Marie, Alison and Andrea. In 1980, he married Ellen Walton and the two lived in Alexandria, Virginia when upon retirement in 2000, they moved to Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, Bill volunteered at Bienvenidos Outreach, a food pantry, for seventeen years and served as President of the Board for 9 years. He continued volunteer work at Bienvenidos until 2023. This important community resource provides thousands of meals to under- supported citizens and homeless in Santa Fe. He was also a docent at the NM History Museum for 8 years, sharing his passion for history with others.
Playing racquetball, traveling the world, gourmet cooking, a love of history (especially the Civil War), reading, biking the C&O canal and being fluent in multiple languages were just a few passions that made him the interesting man that he was.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Ellen, and by three sisters, five children, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He will be buried in the Buchanan Family plot at Hillside Cemetery in Peekskill NY.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to Operation Smile, https://www.operationsmile.org, Bill's favorite charity.