Elva D. Buckner

Elva Darlene Buckner, 88, of Grafton, Wisconsin died peacefully on Thursday afternoon, September 18, 2014. By her side were her husband of seventy-one years, Warren, her three children, daughters-in-law, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Elva was born on February 23, 1926 in Lothair, Kentucky, the daughter of Irvin and Anna (Morgan) Caudill. She had six sisters and three brothers. At the age of three her family moved to Marion, Indiana where she grew up. On August 3, 1943 she married her husband, Warren Buckner, in North Augusta, South Carolina. During the war she worked at the Peerless Company making fuses for the war effort. She studied Interior Decorating through the Chicago School of Design. She decorated model homes for a builder in Marion and later opened her own decorating business, Darlene’s Interiors. Elva loved to be surrounded by beautiful things, including her home and her garden. She would spend countless hours working in her garden. She enjoyed sitting at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee admiring her garden and watching the birds, especially the cardinals. She was an accomplished seamstress, making her children’s clothes, pillows and window treatments. She enjoyed reupholstering and renovating old furniture and decorating her home and others. But what she loved the most was her family. She cherished the moments she spent with her husband, children, daughters-in-law, son-in-law, grandchildren, parents, sisters and husbands, brothers and wives, nieces and nephews and friends, whom she treated like family. She made everyone feel welcome into her home. Elva is survived by her husband Warren; two sons, Tom and wife Lee Buckner, Phoenix, AZ; Steve and wife Lonna Buckner, Rockwall TX; daughter, Jill Gallogly and husband Tom, Cedarburg, WI; seven grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren; eight great-great grandchildren; two sisters, Cloie Dale and Bonnie Andrews; brother-in-law, Ed Andrews. Elva is also survived by many nieces, nephews and friends. A memorial service will take place on Monday, September 29, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Gardens of Memory Cemetery Chapel, 11201 S. Marion Rd. – 35, Marion, IN. A reception will follow at the Hostess House in Marion. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Cedarburg Preschool, N19 W6717 Commerce Ct., Cedarburg, WI 53012.