Mrs. Buchanan graduated from Green Ridge High School in 1945. She was a charter
member of New Hope Baptist Church, where she was active until the past few years, and in 2005 she and her husband were named Seniors of the Year. She held various jobs in the church including Sunday School teacher and singing in the choir. She was a member of NARFE and Jolly Elders, and enjoyed traveling with her husband for many years.
She retired from civil service at WAFB in 1978, and worked at Interstate Studios doing
seasonal work for several years after that.
Surviving are a daughter, Sharon, of Sedalia; a son, Kenneth, and his wife, Shirley, of
Columbia; two grandchildren, Bradley Buchanan, of St. Louis, and Stacy Weitkemper, of Kansas City; a brother, Gerald Riecke, State of Georgia; two sisters, Naomi Buchanan, of Green Ridge, and Maureen Maxwell, of Windsor; and two great-grandsons, Aden Ray and Brenden.
She was also predeceased by one brother and two sisters.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 2008, at Heckart Funeral Home, with the Rev. Ted Francis and the Rev. Bruce Campbell officiating.
Pallbearers will be Bradley Buchanan, Jack Smith, Beryl McCoy, John Crook and Warren Preuitt. Honorary bearers will be Clifford Kast, Darryl Hansen, Ab Abney and Marion Schmidt.
Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until service time Saturday at the funeral home. Condolences may be sent online at www.heckartfuneralhome.com.
Velma M. Buchanan, 81, of Sedalia, died Thursday, July 10, 2008, at Fair View Nursing Home.
She was born Feb. 22, 1927, in Green Ridge, a daughter of Willie and Ivy Willis Riecke. On March 1, 1946, in Sedalia, she was married to Arvil W. Buchanan, who died May 30, 2007.
