LIVESTREAM LINK FOR PATRICIA A. BUCK

Patricia Arlene Buck, 95 , passed away peacefully on January 28, 2021, at Cherokee Specialty Care.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa. Pastor Barb Dinelli will officiate. Burial of the cremains will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery at Cherokee, Iowa. There will be a family prayer service at 1:45 p.m. at the funeral home on Saturday. There will be no visitation. The Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee, Iowa is assisting the family with the arrangements. The memorial service will be livestreamed on the Boothby Funeral Home website with the assistance of Fuller Digital Solutions.  Online condolences can be left at www.boothbyfuneral.com Memorials may be sent to Cherokee Regional Medical Center Hospice.

Pat was born in February 23, 1925, to Ralph W. & Nellie M. (Gleason) White in Cherokee. She attended Cherokee Public Schools and worked in the local bakery. The summer before her senior year of high school, Pat lived with a friend's family in Kansas City, Missouri. She worked for Commonwealth Aircraft, attaching canvas to the Waco glider frames used in the WW II war effort. Pat returned to Cherokee to finish her high school education, graduating in 1944. Pat married Alfred "Bud" G. Buck in a small ceremony in his parents' rural Washta home on June 3, 1944. The couple worked and raised three children on the family farm.

Pat was a devoted wife and mother, always putting her family's needs ahead of her own. She was always available to listen to our news and or concerns, especially when we came home from school every day. This commitment carried on through our teen years and even into adulthood when we were raising children of our own. Mom always told us that we'd get exactly out of our children what we put into them & would never regret the time we spent with them. She had a unique response whenever we would try the "everybody else is doing it" appeal for permission. She would reply "Some people rob banks but we don't." I don't think any of us ever came up with a reasonable rebuttal.

After Bud and Pat sold their farm in 1968, Pat worked outside the home for Simonsen's in Quimby and then for J.C. Penney in Cherokee. In 1971, Pat obtained her Real Estate license and worked for Miller-Mac for 13 years. Selling real estate was a very good fit & successful for Pat. She enjoyed meeting new people and helping them find the home best suited for them. She also sold commercial properties. One of her biggest achievements resulted in bringing KMart to Cherokee. Pat obtained her Real Estate Broker's license and opened her own agency in 1984. She sold her building in 1991 but continued working on a part-time basis during early retirement.

Pat was very proud of her hometown and her country. She was always thinking of new ideas that might improve or promote her community. Being the daughter of a WW I veteran, it seems only fitting that one her ideas was a war memorial honoring all local area veterans of all wars and conflicts. She began by writing a letter to the editor of The Cherokee Daily Times presenting her idea & soliciting support. Several people told her it would never happen. A few who were willing to try replied, and together,  they formed a committee and began advertising and soliciting financial support. Mom wrote letters to families of war veterans & community organizations, drove to various communities to post posters and spent countless hours working on the details to bring her dream to a reality. The fundraising  campaign was so successful that after completion, there were funds left to maintain & update the memorial. The Veterans Memorial stands today beside the Cherokee County Courthouse.

Pat participated in many organizations, including Business & Professional Women, Order of Eastern Star, the Quilt Batts and Bridge clubs. She was a member of St Paul's Methodist Church. After her retirement, she volunteered at the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce, creating an archive of historical information matched to photos of current and past buildings and homes in Cherokee. With her sharp memory, she was able to name the far-past residents of many homes & occupants of commercial buildings. With her pride in her community and her interest in history, it was a labor of love.

Pat's hobbies included refinishing & reupholstering furniture, sewing, home decorating (which sometimes meant taking down walls!) reading, playing bridge and spending time with family & friends. She was never afraid to try something new. Pat frequently hosted the large family dinners & reunions for extended family.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her mother-in-law and father-in-law,  Edith and Roy Buck, her sister June Boothby, her four brothers-in-law, her four sisters-in-law, daughter-in-law Vicky (Dan) Buck and four nieces and four nephews. She was the last living relative of her generation in her family.

Left to cherish her memory are her three children, David (Keelie) Buck of Santa Paula, California, Dan (Lois) Buck of Cherokee, Iowa and Ellen (Gary) McElderry of Gladstone, Missouri, fourteen grandchildren, thirty-four great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.