Ann Elaine Buck

Ann Elaine (Johnson) Buck of Fairfield, Iowa, went to be with the Lord June 20th, 2019, at Jefferson County Health Center.  She was born December 16th, 1953, to Pauline R. (Wagoner) Johnson and Harry Oscar Johnson in Baltimore, Maryland.

She was a much-beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend, and she is survived by her husband of thirty-six years, Jim A. Buck; her children, Christopher Nelson Buck, Coralville, Iowa; Noel Nicole (Jacob) Adams, Anamosa, Iowa; her sister, Bennye Nell (Merle) Houck, Liberty, Missouri; her niece, Kirsten (Lance) Martin, O’Fallon, Illinois; her nephew, Alan (Rachel) Houck, Liberty, Missouri, and five great nieces and nephews, Alexis Martin, Reagan Martin, Nicholas Houck, Ryan Houck, and Adam Houck.

She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and her grandparents, including her much-loved maternal grandmother, Nell Sanders Wagoner Robinson, of Gruetti, Tennessee.

Ann graduated from Towson State University, Maryland, in 1976 with her RN/BSN, and Columbia University, New York, New York, with her MSN and Certified Nurse Midwife degrees in 1982, doing her internship at Los Angeles County Hospital, California, before coming to Fairfield, where she and Jim were married at First Lutheran Church, May 29th, 1983.

She worked as a nurse at Franklin Square Hospital and the University of Maryland, both of Baltimore, and the University of Iowa, before delivering babies for years as a CNM/ARNP at the then Burlington Medical Center and Jefferson County Hospital, Fairfield.  She also served the Native Americans at the Gallup, New Mexico Reservation through the National Health Service as locum tenens. She was a sensitive, nurturing, compassionate, astute, and encouraging healthcare provider who helped hundreds of mothers and fathers bring their babies safely into the world.

After the birth of her second child, she retired from nurse midwifery to focus on being a devoted, impassioned mother and wife, who was deeply involved in homemaking, educational volunteerism, her church, and raising dogs and horses.  Those who were blessed to know her will remember her loving nature, kindness, generosity, encyclopedic memory, and searching spirit.  She will be missed beyond words by all she touched.

Her last gift was to be an organ donor, and she has been cremated .  Visitation for family & friends will be 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 17th, at Word of Life Lutheran Church, 2092 Libertyville Rd, Fairfield, IA 52556.  A Celebration of Life Ceremony will follow at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Chris Fiske officiating.  Burial of cremains will be at a later date.

Memorials may be made to Word of Life Lutheran Church or donor's choice.  Cards and memorials may be mailed to Jim Buck, 2299 Middle Glasgow Road, Fairfield, Iowa 52556.