Mary Frances Buck

Buck, Mary F. (Guetzloe)

Age 93, of St Louis Park, passed away March 12, 2020.

Mary was born in Minneapolis on March 7, 1927, to Mildred Frances Cardiff and Royal Peter Guetlzoe. Together with sister, Nancy, and brother, Bruce, Mary grew up in the Morningside area and spent many happy family summers living in a log cabin on Pine Lake fishing, swimming and sailing.

Mary graduated from St Louis Park High School and the University of Minnesota. She taught elementary school in Duluth for four years, then taught in Great Falls, Montana. When out skiing with friends, Mary met John Buck, who was in the Air Force. They married April 13, 1954. Most of their married life they resided in St Louis Park, MN. Mary continued her teaching at Aldersgate UMC Nursery School from 1973 to 1980. Mary then cared for granddaughters, Jennifer and Allison.

Mary and John attended Aldersgate UMC in St Louis Park for over 60 years. Mary was very involved in activities at Aldersgate, serving many years as Chair of Trustees, on the decorating committee, volunteering for Dinner at your Door, and also loved being part of the Women's Circle and gathering with her Birthday Club friends.

Mary was an expert seamstress and sewed countless items for her children, everything from tailored, detailed work, to kids clothes, costumes, stuffed animals and curtains. She also created many beautiful quilts and was a skilled knitter, knitting matching Christmas stockings for the whole family. In the summers she was always working out in her gardens and enjoyed watching the wildlife on Minnehaha Creek from the back deck. Mary was an avid baker and her family always greatly enjoyed her ever present treats. Her lemon meringue pies were a work of art. She loved her pets throughout the years, especially our dog Freckles, who was her constant companion.

Mary was the creator of all our family fun. For many summers our family spent a week up at Malchow's cabins on Eighth Crow Wing Lake near Nevis. One summer she made us all matching zebra-print sweatshirts to wear while there, including the dog. Mary arranged a special family Christmas vacation in Mexico. For over 20 years our family has had lunch together once a week, a tradition that continues to this day. Mary made all this happen. She was the heartbeat of our family and she loved her family and friends well. She will be greatly missed.

Mary is survived by husband of 65 years, John; children Ann (Sidney) Wood, Robert (Cheryl) Buck, and Nancy (Tony) Baker; grandchildren Jennifer Wood, Allison (Lance) Lundquist, Annika and Kyle Baker; great grandchildren Max, Gus, and Oliver.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to The Sheridan Story (thesheridanstory.org) or the Alzheimer's Association (ALZ.org).

A special thank you to Brookdale Eden Prairie for their care and love shown to Mary.