Anna Mae Buser

Anna Mae Buser, the daughter of John Eathen, Jr., and Lorena May (Davis) Edwards, was born January 2, 1939, at her parents’ home in Cedar Creek in Pottawattamie County near Manhattan, Kansas, and died April 15, 2022, at her home in Audubon, Iowa, at the age of 83 years, 3 months, and 13 days.
Anna Mae was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist Church in Manhattan and then later converted to the Catholic Church following her marriage. She attended Manhattan Community Schools and graduated with the High School Class of 1957. Anna Mae studied at Kansas State University and graduated in January of 1962 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education. She then taught third grade at McCandless Elementary School in Hutchinson, Kansas, and later taught third grade at Woodrow Wilson School in Manhattan.
On June 29, 1963, she was united in marriage to John Donald Buser at The Parish of St. Isadore Catholic Church in Manhattan. They were blessed with five children: David, Angela, Matthew, Karin, and Paul. They moved to Wetmore, Kansas, then to Morrill, Kansas, and she helped John set up their veterinary practice while raising their five children. They then moved to Circleville, Kansas, where Anna Mae supervised the construction of their new home and substitute-taught at Jackson Heights School. They moved to Audubon, Iowa, in May of 1978. While living in Audubon, Anna Mae was a substitute teacher for a short while. She then was a clerk at the Ben Franklin Store. In 1986 they moved to Crete, Nebraska. Anna Mae worked at the local Sun Mart Food for a short time. Then in May of 1988 she was hired as a temporary clerk-typist for the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration & Naturalization in Lincoln, Nebraska. She became a permanent employee and later advanced to Immigration Information Officer until she retired on October 31, 2001. John died July 29, 2015. Anna Mae lived in Crete until she moved to Audubon, Iowa, in August of 2020 to be near her daughters.
Anna Mae was a member of St. James Parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Crete, Nebraska. She served as Altar Society President, Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, and Parish Pro-Life Coordinator. Anna Mae was a member of the Crete Deanery and served as Commission Chairman, Director, and President. She was a member of the Lincoln Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and served on the Board as Treasurer, Auditor, Recording Secretary, Third Vice-President, and LDCCW representative on Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities State Committee. Her community service included an active member and Recording Secretary for Saline County Right to Life and Head Coordinator for the Crete FoodNet. Anna Mae had a strong faith and enjoyed the Cup of Faith Bible Study at St. Patrick’s. She loved to read, and in the summers, she would read to the children at the Crete Public Library during their summer program. She enjoyed gardening and making quilts.
Anna Mae was preceded in death by her husband, John Donald Buser; her daughter-in-law, Gracie Buser; her parents; her sister, Ronda Willey; her step-sisters, Jeanne Buffington, and Dixie and husband Robert Litle; her mother-in-law and fathers-in-law, Caroline and husbands, Gerald Buser and Daniel Draney; brothers-in-law, Leo Buser and Robert Buser.
Survivors include her children: David and Kymmi Buser of Vail, Oregon; Angela and Robert Winther of Audubon, Iowa; Matthew and Roylene Buser of Martell, Nebraska; Karin and Gary Huff of Anita, Iowa; and Paul and Nicole Buser of Lincoln, Nebraska; 18 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; her brother, John and Betsy Edwards of Wamego, Kansas; her brothers-in law and sisters-in-law, William Willey of Topeka, Kansas; Eloise and Fred Hawk of Wichita, Kansas; Ellen Buser of Sabetha, Kansas; Irene Eisenbise of Hiawatha, Kansas; and Gary and Pam Buser of Columbia, Missouri; nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends.