Some people may think of Dot Buckley as a firecracker, but most knew her as the cake artist.
Buckley died Sept. 8, but will forever live on not only in the hearts of her family members, but also in the lives she has touched from more than 60 years of baking cakes, pies and anything else that needed to be done.
Once she passed, people started posting pictures of the cakes she has done through the years on social media. All kinds of cakes from elaborate wedding cakes to birthday cakes were shared. Ask anyone who knew her, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do when it came to baking.
Her daughter, Pegi Buckley Johnson, said her mother used to do character cakes long before character pans were made. She said Buckley would cut the cake to the desired character; she was that talented.
However, not only were the cakes gorgeous, they were also very tasty. Buckley did not believe in having a bad tasting cake no matter how pretty. The cake itself had to taste good.
Johnson said her mother used to work at the old Rutter-Rex plant during the day and would make cakes at night and on the weekend to make some extra money. Growing up, Johnson said, the house always smelled like cake.
“She would grumble about the amount of cakes she had to make, but she really loved doing them. There wasn’t a cake she couldn’t do,” Johnson said.
In addition to her cakes, her granddaughter, Angi Earls, said she just loved to bake and make people happy. She said her grandmother was very artistic and could do anything. Earls talked about a cake her grandmother made in the shape of a monster truck and using Moon-Pies as the wheels.
Earls said Buckley was a know-it-all and an active member of Goss Baptist Church.
“She always knew what was going on. If something happened down the road from her, she would be on the phone finding out what happened before anyone would get there,” Earls said.
Earls said Buckley was also known for her pies, brownies and chicken pie and dumplings. She published some of her recipes in the last Blessing of the Hunt cookbook.
Johnson said her mother has probably made over 2,000 cakes in her lifetime. Buckley’s cakes have traveled to several different states, including a several layered wedding cake to North Carolina. Her last big project was a cake she made and donated to raise money for Gentry Terrell, who was battling cancer at the time. The auction for the cake, Johnson said, raised nearly $8,000.
Buckley decided to leave Rutter-Rex and opened her own bakery, Dot’s Cake Place and Johnson said she worked with her mother at the bakery. Eventually, Buckley decided to take her baking back to her home.
Johnson said she can do the cakes, but it is something she is not crazy about doing. She said right now none of Buckley’s grandchildren has shown an interest in taking up the mantle. Johnson said that could change now. She said this will be the first holiday season without Buckley’s beloved baking.
Johnson said she and her siblings do/did not care much for cake now being it’s something they have had all their lives continually. However, for the grandchildren, it is a different story.
Buckley used to store cake scraps and icing in containers in the refrigerator. After she passed, the family was cleaning it out and they found a couple tubs of cake and icing and the grandchildren got excited, Johnson said. Everything had to be separated equally so they all could enjoy “granny’s” baking one last time.
