Erma Buckle, 90, formerly of Clarktown, Ohio, died Friday, April 13, 2012, at Otterbein Retirement Center, Lebanon, Ohio, where she had lived since 1999.
She was born Sept. 30, 1921, in Scioto County, Ohio, a daughter of the late Orel and Clara Herrmann Dever.
Erma was a retired office manager for Loft Painting in Portsmouth, and former owner/operator of Buckle's Market in Clarktown. She was a member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Lucasville and a 1938 Minford High School graduate. She was a 1987 recipient of the Minford Alumni Association Hall of Fame Award for outstanding service to the school and community. Erma was an active 60-year member of the Lucasville Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Lewis Buckle, Jan. 2, 2004; and two sisters, Helen Preston and Dorothy Silvey.
Erma is survived by one daughter, Judy (Bob) Airhart of Springboro, Ohio; one son, David (Linda) Buckle of Cleveland Heights, Ohio; three grandchildren, Robert (Josie) Airhart of Kingston, N.Y., Matthew (Laura) Airhart of Oakville, Ontario, and Nicole Buckle of Pittsburgh, Pa.; four great-grandchildren, Vivienne Grace, Beatrix Kate, April Niamh, and Fiona Leigh; and one sister, Ethel Parks of Jackson.
Funeral services will be conducted 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 2012, at the Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Lucasville with her nephew Rev. Howard Preston officiating. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens. Friends may call 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the McKinley Funeral Home in Lucasville and again for an hour before the funeral Thursday at the church. Eastern Star services will be held Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial gifts may be made to Berea College, Berea, KY 40404, designated for the Walter and Erma Buckle Scholarship Fund.