Mildred M.

VanBuren

Wayne — Mildred Mae Van Buren, 86, of Wayne, formerly of Norfolk and Atkinson, died Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022 at Wayne Countryview Care and Rehabilitation Center in Wayne where she has resided for the last five years since her husband Ervin's death on June 24, 2017.

Visitation was held Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022 at Biglin's Mortuary in O'Neill.

Funeral services were held Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022 at the mortuary in O'Neill.

Burial was in the O'Neill Cemetery in O'Neill.

Memorials may be made to the family for future designation.

Mildred was born on Sept. 23,1935, at home near Atkinson, to Frank Edward and Viola Clara (Osborne) Seger, the second youngest of 10 children. She grew up and attended rural schools in the Atkinson area, and then attended Atkinson High School.  

She met Ervin Leroy VanBuren, when he was home on leave from the U.S. Navy in 1950, at the roller-skating rink in Atkinson. The two were wed on May 20, 1951, at the Methodist Church in O'Neill in a double wedding ceremony with their friends Marlene Geary and Bill Kiser.

They lived on a ranch near Atkinson for a time, and their three children were born Linda Mae, Sharon Kay and Michael Ervin. Later they moved to O'Neill, then to the Wisner and Stanton areas in the late 50s, where they farmed. They made their home in Stanton in 1975 and then moved to Norfolk in the 1980s.  

Mildred began working for the Norfolk Public School system as a paraprofessional in 1988 and retired in 2000, but continued to substitute for several more years. She was so important to the children in her special-needs classrooms.

Mildred loved being a grandmother and couldn't wait to be a great-grandmother and a great-great-grandmother. She loved to cook and bake, raised a large garden and beautiful flowers, as well as crocheted and embroidered many items. She also enjoyed camping and fishing.

Mildred passed away at the age of 86 years, 10 months and 9 days.

Mildred is survived by her three children Linda (Donald) Hoehne of Laguna Vista, Texas, Sharon McQuistan of Wayne and Michael  (Shelly) VanBuren of Billings, MT; eight grandchildren Donald Jr. (Krista) Hoehne, Laura (Abraham) Tatpati, Christina (Brian) Larson, Teresa (Jessy) Mick, Sheryl (Alex Garcia) Salmons, John McQuistan, Francesca Davis and Raschelle (Brad) Drumheller; 11 great-grandchildren Nathaniel, Alexander and Abigail Tatpati, Brett (Shantel) Hendrix and Tom Hendrix, Siera and Cailee Brugger, Emil and Emily Davis, Jordan Milledge and Britton and Willow Drumheller; one great-great-grandson Braydon Hendrix; one sister Margaret Seger of California; two sisters-in-law Wilma Buckles of Lake Havasu City, AZ and Vivian VanBuren of O'Neill; one brother-in-law Willard VanBuren of Ashland; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; one granddaughter Jacqualyn VanBuren; one great-grandson Matthew Hendrix; one son-in-law Gayle McQuistan; one sister Maxine (Edgar) Bulau; seven brothers Edward Seger, Clifford (Jeanne) Seger, Raymond (Helen) Seger, Orville (Louella) Seger, Ralph (Fern) Seger, Calvin Seger and James Seger; her father-in-law and mother-in-law Ralph and Gertrude VanBuren;  and seven brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Ralph (Etta) VanBuren Jr., Donald VanBuren, Marvella (Robert) Jonas, Frankie Buckles, Paul Benedict and Wayne and Carl Butler.