GUICE BUTHMAN, ERMA - Faulkner County, Arkansas | ERMA GUICE BUTHMAN - Arkansas Gravestone Photos

Erma GUICE BUTHMAN

Oak Grove (Historic), Conway Cemetery
Faulkner County,
Arkansas

William Curt, Sr
June 17, 1900 - June 9, 1979
Parents:
John Buthmann (1861 - 1937)
Mary K. Buthmann (1871 - 1909)
Erma
July 9, 1904 - Dec 11, 2007
William Curt, Jr
Born & Died Dec 24, 1937

Erma Guice Buthman, considered to be the "grand matriarch" of all things Hendrix College, died in Conway at age 103.

Born in Gloster, Miss., Mrs. Buthman's long association with Conway began when her father, the Rev. C. Norman Guice, who was a Methodist preacher and traveling evangelist, moved his family to Conway to take advantage of its educational opportunities. Mrs. Buthman, who was also a daughter of Erma Tucker Guice, was the oldest of five children - three boys and two girls.

At age 16, young Erma enrolled in Hendrix College, where in her junior year she met W.C. Buthman. He was a "real young teacher" who "looked like another student," she told the Log Cabin Democrat newspaper in 2004 in celebration of her 100th birthday. She graduated from Hendrix in 1924 with a degree in French and English. Her daughter, Mary Essert of Conway, said her mother graduated magna cum laude.

Mrs. Buthman said in 2004, "When he looked my way one day, we started dating and decided to get married when summer came. We took our marriage vows on Aug. 23, 1928. I resigned my job as a public school teacher and became Erma Guice Buthman, housewife." Mrs. Buthman taught school in DeWitt and Conway before she was married.

Her association with Hendrix College continued through the years, first as the wife of a history teacher and later as the wife of the Dean of Students. Dr. Buthman died in 1979, but his wife continued to be a presence at Hendrix events and for students and faculty.

"She was always there for my father," Mrs. Essert said of her mother. "Her identity was built into who he was. They always had students at the house and chaperoned events."

Mrs. Essert said her mother "had a wonderful memory for names and circumstances. She had a love for the students." She said that up to just a few weeks ago her mother could tell her "who graduated in 1935 and where they are now."

Mrs. Essert, who was the Buthmans' only child, said she was a "college brat," learning to skate and ride her bike on the Hendrix campus. The home where she grew up is across Winfield Street from Hendrix College, and Mrs. Essert remembers there being entertainments at Galloway Hall. "I would sit on the screened porch and hear my mother's laugh across the street. She had a wonderful high, giggly laugh. She loved to party she loved people."
Barbara Horton, director of stewardship at Hendrix, said, "Because of his (Dr. Buthman's) work here and his involvement with the students, she knew everyone, and was just a part of the Hendrix family. She is a dear, precious friend to everyone she's known all these years. She was the grand matriarch of so many faculty, staff and students here at Hendrix. Her ties and bonds lasted many years as they have gone in so many different directions."

Even in the past few years, Mrs. Buthman has been a loyal attendee of campus events, in particular the Half Century Club gathering during Alumni Weekend. "She came last spring (to Alumni Weekend)," Mrs. Horton said. "We're going to miss those contacts." Mrs. Buthman was the oldest attending alumna during Alumni Weekend for the past few years, Mrs. Horton added.

Her ties elsewhere in the community were strong. Mrs. Buthman's civic work ranged from being a member of the Junior Shakespeare Club and PEO to the Gray Ladies of the Faulkner County chapter of the American Red Cross and Church Women United. She was also active in the Hendrix Dames.

Mrs. Buthman was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Conway, having become a member at the church in 1920. She was a member of the Nell Dyer Circle of United Methodist Women.

Mrs. Buthman's friendships were very important to her, Mrs. Essert said. "She especially enjoyed visiting with men. She was of the generation that gave an extra bonus of respect to men. She gave preference to what a man said."
One longtime friend, Ann Davis of Conway, said she was in PEO and a bridge club with Mrs. Buthman. She said they attended concerts together and a group of six women (Mrs. Buthman, Mrs. Davis, Bill Cooper, Mary Cornelia McRae, Julia Lee Moore and Helen Davis) would get together for lunch for a sewing club. The bridge club, she said, had women ranging from their 50s to their 90s, which showed the scope of her friendships. In the club, Mrs. Buthman was known as "the double queen," because "she would always double you," Mrs. Davis laughed.
"She knew so many different subjects. One thing in particular I remember is that she knew who built what house in Conway, who lived there and where they are now," Mrs. Davis said. "She was a good teacher (correcting people on subjects she knew) and she was very thoughtful. When grandchildren (of her friends) were born, she would give a little piece of her silver or something very personal."
Mrs. Davis said her friend was very invested in her husband's life, but "she was amazing in her own right. She was very outspoken on issues she believed in. She was quite a lady." Mrs. Davis said she remembers Mrs. Buthman speaking in front of the church when she was 95 or 96, and she didn't use any notes. "She had a stage presence. She had a lot of pride. That is what kept her going."
Mrs. Essert is proud of how her mother was able to successfully live as a widow from 1979 until 2001, when she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Bob, who moved to Conway from California.

"She had dear, dear, dear friends," Mrs. Essert said. "We invited her to move to California with us. Mother just wouldn't hear of it. She just wouldn't leave her friends."

Both mother and daughter enjoyed the Body Recall program of exercise. This exercise and her physical bearing helped keep Mrs. Buthman healthy, said her daughter, who works in aquatic exercise. "She sat up straight, held her head up straight," Mrs. Essert said.

Most of all, Mrs. Buthman "was a good mother. She was very supportive and pleased with my life and the grandchildren," Mrs. Essert said. "She was a stay-at-home mom. She was always home when I got home from school. She sewed all my clothes and she knitted."

Mrs. Buthman was a family person. "She cooked from scratch and took people cookies. She loved pretty clothes and shoes. And she was a wonderful speller," her daughter said.

Most of all, she was a wonderful friend and lady. "She was just about my favorite person. Everybody in Conway will miss her," said Mrs. Horton.
Mrs. Buthman is survived by her daughter and son-in-law; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a niece, Mary Lee McHenry of Little Rock, who Mrs. Essert said helped to care for Mrs. Buthman; a sister-in-law; and five other nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to the church or to the Buthman Scholarship or Lectureship Memorials at Hendrix College.

(bio by: Lauri Rowland Hill)


Spouse:
William Curt Buthman (1900 - 1979)

Children:
William Curt Buthman (1937 - 1937)

Contributed on 1/1/17 by hawkinsdonna
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Record #: 1166436

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Additional GUICE BUTHMAN Surnames in OAK GROVE (HISTORIC), CONWAY Cemetery

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Submitted: 1/1/17 • Approved: 1/6/17 • Last Updated: 1/9/17 • R1166436-G1166434-S3

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