Leon "Buck Shorty" Jackson, a retired cab and truck driver who was active in the Elks club for more than half a century, died of a heart attack Saturday at his home in Baltimore's Edmondson Village neighborhood. He was 81.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Mr. Jackson was a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. He retired about 15 years ago.

At his death, he was public relations director for the Elks' Spirit of Chesapeake Lodge No. 1107 on Frederick Avenue, said his niece, Valerie Allen.

"He loved the Elks," Mrs. Allen said. "He joined it as a very young man and was there for 50-plus years. He was considered a Golden Elk because he had given so much service."

Mr. Jackson held various offices in Chesapeake Lodge, and was president of the Tri-State Association of Elks of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia in the mid-1970s, Mrs. Allen said.

Charles "Smoky" Jones, a friend and fellow Elk, said Mr. Jackson was an expert on the Elks and enjoyed the camaraderie of the fraternal organization.

"The Elks was his life, period," Mr. Jones said. "Everybody knew him, even the head man in the Elks. We've got Elks all over the world, you mention the name Buck Shorty and they know him."

Mrs. Allen said her uncle was an avid reader. "He would get two or three newspapers and read them every day," she said. "His favorite author was Shakespeare."

A wake is set for 11 a.m. today and the service at noon at Estep Brothers Funeral Home, 1300 Eutaw Place.

Mr. Jackson is survived by numerous nieces and nephews.