Gwendolyn Buchheit

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Gwendolyn Dawson Buchheit, 62, of Perryville passed away Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, at her home, after a valiant battle with cancer.

She was born Sept. 23, 1950, in Lake Village, Ark., daughter of the late Merrill Marvin "Matt" and June Elizabeth Petzold Dawson. She and Leo E. Buchheit were married May 14, 2005.

Gwendolyn was a retired home economics teacher. She was a member of Cape County Cowboy Church and was Perry County Farm Bureau board secretary.

She graduated from Eudora, Ark., High School in 1968 and was the 1971 Miss Rodeo Arkansas. She received her teaching degree from the University of Central Arkansas and taught at Cherry Valley and Greers Ferry. She retired from West Side High School as a consumer science teacher in 2005. She was an EMT with Greers Ferry EMS. She also had a class A CDL.

At that time she married and moved to Perryville. She and her husband raised black Angus cattle and hay. She continued her love of teaching by serving as a substitute teacher at Perryville High School and the Career Center.

She was an excellent seamstress, played the hammered dulcimer, accordion and harmonica. She loved to cook, and can fruits and vegetables. She also loved to paint and do crafts. She loved black-and-white paint horses and lemon-colored beagles.

Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Amy (Wes) Faith of Rogers, Ark.; a son, Matt (Meaghan) Horton of Memphis, Tenn.; two stepsons and a stepdaughter, Christopher (Tanya) Buchheit of Florissant, Mo., Bridgette (Ben) Baer of Imperial, Mo., and Ryan (Carrie) Buchheit of Perryville; two sisters, Anita (Joe) Ladensack of Tucson, Ariz., and Karen (Larry) Widdifield of Anderson, Mo.; a grandson, Walter "Wally" Faith; and 10 stepgrandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Young and Sons Funeral Home and from 8 a.m. until time of service Saturday at Cape County Cowboy Church at Oak Ridge. A wake service will be at 7 p.m. Friday.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, with the Rev. Jim Matthews officiating. Burial will be in St. Michael's Cemetery at Apple Creek, Mo.

A free will breakfast will be served at the church from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Memorials are preferred to the American Cancer Society, Cape County Cowboy Church, St. Michael Cemetery or Serenity Hospice.