Gloria M. Buss

Gloria M. Buss passed away September 3, 2018 in Georgetown, TX after a fall. She had grown weaker over the years struggling with COPD and CLL.

Memorial Service 10:30 a.m., Thursday, September 20, 2018 at Lake Crystal Mortuary. Visitation will be one hour before service. Family interment will be in Woodland Hills Memorial Park, Mankato.

Gloria Mae Peterson, the only child of Victor and Lillian Peterson of Lake Crystal Minnesota was born June 14, 1926, Flag Day. She used to say everyone joined in the celebration of her birthday by flying the flag. She graduated from Lake Crystal High School class of 1944, the source of many lifetime friendships, and moved to Mankato Minnesota to attend Commercial College. During this time, she met Robert H. Buss, a lineman for the phone company and they were married in 1949. When the Korean War started in 1950 her husband was recalled into the Air Force. As the war ended Captain Buss decided to stay in the service and was assigned advanced flight training at Brian Field College Station, Texas and she became a military wife. The first of many moves over a 25-year career with a lot of new locations and new people to meet and a lot of time as a single parent. She had a beautiful voice and would join the base chapel choir at each location. While stationed in Germany from 1960 to 1962, she was a member of an award-winning choir that sang in contests all over Europe. They kept winning and went from Berchtesgaden Germany to London by way of Paris. After 25 Years Gloria and Robert separated from the Air Force and separated from each other. Gloria came back to Lake Crystal and worked several jobs finally becoming the secretary for the Methodist Church. She loved working with friends to bring beautiful music to the services and special events. In 2004 her only son and all her grandkids were living in Texas and they encouraged her to move to Georgetown. Her voice had aged so she didn’t do a lot of singing, but she made up for it by playing more piano. She played for years at the Saint David’s Hospital surgical lounge. After she was invited to join a fun group of musicians called “The Posies”, their weekly playing became a high point for her. She moved to the Legacy, an assisted living residence, in 2015. Her first week there she found the facility’s upstairs piano and joined with a neighbor to sing and play hymns all afternoon. They both smiled and laughed that it was just like going to church. That was her last extended play, because she felt she could no longer play as well as she wanted and so played less often. She always enjoyed her grand and great grand kids. With five great grand kids, three families, and sometimes four dogs thrown in, family get togethers are loud. Gloria loved to hold the babies, play games with the toddlers, and laugh at the big kids. She is already missed.

Gloria is survived by her son, Robert C. Buss and wife, Linda; grandson, Robert V. Buss and wife Katherine, great grandkids, Robby and Lily; grandson, Matthew C. Buss and wife, Tiffany, great grandkids, Aidan, Asher, and Abbott all in central Texas and her cousin, Charles Peterson and his wife, Tish of Judson Minnesota.