Rev. Verna Lusk Buell's Obituary
Verna Lusk Buell, a retired United Methodist Church Pastor, passed away Monday, December 9, 2008.
She was born June 30, 1923 in Douglas, Arizona to the late Harry W. and Janet Sine Lusk and has been a resident of St. Tammany Parish for 30 years. The beloved mother of Thomas Buell and wife Dawnell, Duncan A. Buell and wife Mary Ann, and Connie B. Hinton, she is survived by three grandchildren: Holly A. Hinton, Scott C. Hinton, and Kasey Buell; and three step-grandchildren: Elise Argueta, Tammy Stiebing, and Tiffany Wall; and her sister, Jean Lusk.
Verna graduated from the University of Arizona in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in music education. From 1944-46, she worked at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, studied at the Julliard School of Music, appeared in early live television shows, and worked at Papermill Playhouse, New Jersey, performing in numerous musicals. In the 1950s she was a well-known church soloist at Christ Church, Cranbrook and St. John’s Episcopal Church in the Detroit area. She formed the first choir at Christ Episcopal Church in Covington, LA in 1962 and served as choir director there until 1974. In 1979 she graduated from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, with a Master’s of Divinity and in that same year, became Pastor of the United Methodist Church in Hemingford, NE. From 1981-1983 she led churches in Palmer, Wolbach, and St. Paul, NE and in Beaver City, NE from 1983-89, finally retiring in 1990. In retirement, she also pastored Lee’s Landing United Methodist Church in Ponchatoula, LA from 1992-98 and was active in the Mandeville Ministerial Association.
Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend memorial services Monday, December 15, 2008 at 11:00 AM from St. Timothy United Methodist Church, 335 Asbury Dr., Mandeville, LA 70448.
Visiting hours will begin at the church at 9:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mandeville Police Foundation, ‘Toys for Tots’, P.O. Box 9053, Mandeville, LA 70470.
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