Hazel Marie Bucher

Hazel Marie Bucher, age 102, and a lifelong resident of Stone Creek, died peacefully Tuesday evening in New Dawn Health Care Center at Dover following a lengthy illness.Born in Stone Creek, O. December 19, 1902, she was a daughter of the late Charles E. and Catherine Kughler Brown. Hazel graduated from Stone Creek High School in 1920, and was a devout Lutheran, having attended Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at Stone Creek her entire life.Mrs. Bucher held membership in numerous organizations; the Naomi Circle of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the American Bible Society, the Lutheran Laity Movement, the Farm Bureau, and its council, the Founders Club of the Osterlen Home for Troubled Youth, the former PTO of Stone Creek Schools, the band mothers, the choir at Zion church, where she also taught Sunday School. Mrs. Bucher had a busy life on a working farm. In addition to her activities there, she enjoyed quilting, crocheting, sewing, playing the piano, reading, working in her flower and vegetable gardens, and playing bridge. On July 2, 1926, Hazel married Virgil Raymond Bucher at Stone Creek. The two were married for nearly fifty-two years before his death on Valentines Day, 1978.Survivors include two daughters Elizabeth Ann (Richard) Reinhart of Pittsfield, MA, and Marlene Ruth (William) Crothers of Columbus, O., and a son, Robert Gerald (Betty) Bucher of Stone Creek. A sister, Faye Kughler, of New Philadelphia, 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews complete the family. In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Bucher was preceded in death by a daughter, Mary Lou Bucher; two sisters, Evelyn Ridenour and Gladys McFarland; two brothers, John and Harry Kughler; in addition to an infant brother. Friends are invited to call Friday afternoon, March 25, 2005 from 4 until 7 PM in the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home & Crematory at New Philadelphia. The Rev. William C. Haggis will officiate Mr. Bucher’s funeral ceremony Saturday morning at 10:30 AM in the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at Stone Creek where friends are invited to call one hour prior to services. Burial will follow at Stone Creek Cemetery. Following the committal service, the ladies of the church will host a reception for family and friends in the church fellowship hall. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Tuscarawas County, 201 West Third Street, Dover, OH 44622, or to Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 212, West Jefferson Street, P.O. Box 118, Stone Creek, OH, 43840.