Patricia Buck 1932-2023
Patricia “Pasha” Buck, 90, of Grinnell, Iowa, died on Friday, March 3, 2023, at her home in Mayflower Community, under care of Hospice of the Midwest.
A celebration of life gathering will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 4 at the Smith Funeral Home, with a memorial service following, beginning at 5 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be designated to either Mayflower Human Needs Fund, Center for Rural Affairs or Grinnell UCC Church, and may be mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, P.O. Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112.
Pasha was born April 4, 1932, in Topeka, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Hafer, the owner of the general store in Mayetta, and Vera Jeannette Hamill Hafer, a schoolteacher in the local school. She was raised in Mayetta and graduated with the 1949 class of Mayetta Rural High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from Sterling College in 1953 and her master of arts in English from The University of Kansas in 1958.
Pasha married Robert Hill on Dec. 24, 1956, in Lawrence while attending The University of Kansas. To this union, the couple was blessed with four children, Kristin, Robert, Karin and Margot. The couple later divorced. Pasha married Pete Martin on April 3, 1980. The couple returned to the farm Pasha’s family had owned in Mayetta, and Pete continued to farm the land until his death in 1988. Pasha met John Buck during her work as regional director of North Central States for Heifer Project International. Pasha and John were married on March 6, 1994, in Mayetta.
Pasha had a lifetime calling to ministry. She owned her own business, Doorways, a spiritual consulting business helping people in spiritual transitioning. After she and John married, she became an ordained minister with Disciples of Christ. In this capacity she provided temporary pastoral services both in Iowa and in Texas, where she and John spent many winters, including extended service at St. John United Methodist Church in Rio Grande City, Texas. She was also an elder of the Presbyterian Church and a member of Grinnell United Church of Christ. Most recently she served as Chaplain at the Mayflower Community.
Pasha is survived by her children, Kristin Hill of Grinnell, Iowa, Robert (Kim) Hill of Homer City, Pa., Karin Hill of Grinnell, Iowa, and Margot Hill, of Marshalltown, Iowa; grandchildren, Sarah (Sean) Gage, Amber (Troy) Cannon and Jonathan Hill; great-grandchildren, Pandora Hill and Lukas and Kaleb Gage; and a sister, Marilyn (Jim) Zinn of Topeka. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband John Buck in 2022; former husband Pete Martin in 1988; a grandchild, Leslie Hill; and her brother and his wife, Benjamin Jr. and Flo Hafer.
(PAID OBITUARY)
