Lawrene Pearl Buck

Lawrene Stone Buck of Cherokee, Oklahoma, passed away on Monday, November 13, 2023, after a short illness.  She was born in Cherokee on February 12, 1936, the only daughter and second of four children of Lawrence and Mabel Stone.  She grew up with three brothers, Donald Lee, born in 1935, Larry Wilburn Stone, born in 1938, and A.J. “Jim” Stone, born in 1944.  She spent her childhood and teens years in Cherokee, attending Cherokee Public Schools and working as a telephone operator for AT&T working along side her Aunt Pearl Perry.

She met her husband, Freddy M. Buck from Lambert and they married on October 5, 1953.  Freddy and Lawrene’s first child, Ky Ann, was born in 1954.  A second child, Teresa Lynn, was born in 1955.  Their third and last child, Kimberly Jean, was born in 1956.

Lawrene and Freddy decided to return to college in Oklahoma to finish their bachelor’s degrees.  Lawrene completed a degree in English Language Arts.

Returning to Wichita in 1967, Lawrene began teaching for Wichita Public Schools, and later earned a Master’s degree in Library Science from Emporia State University, and became a librarian for Wichita Public Schools.  When Freddy retired, they moved to their home on Grand Lake in northeast Oklahoma.  Lawrene continued to work as a public-school librarian in Oklahoma, first at Berryhill Public Schools, and then at Foyil Public Schools.  While at Foyil she oversaw the construction of two new libraries for the Elementary and the High School and was very proud of the work she accomplished there.  Lawrene retired in 1999 after 32 years in public schools.  Lawrene and Freddy returned to Cherokee in 2002.

Lawrene was preceded in death by her parents, Lawrence Stone in 1975, and Mabel Bright Stone in 1977, and her youngest brother, AJ “Jim” Stone in 2013.  Freddy passed away in 2016. 

Lawrene is survived by her three daughters and their husbands, Ky Ann Buck; Teri and Tom Lane; and Kim and Burney York; grandchildren and their spouses, Charles and Rona Lane, Chad and Tami Lane, Shannon and Travis Simmons, Christopher Derrevere, and Chris York; and great grandchildren, Braden Loudenslager, Alex York, and Wyatt York.

A graveside service will be Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at Cherokee Municipal Cemetery.  There will be no public viewing.  Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Cherokee.  www.lanmanfuneralhome.com  Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Friends of the Library for the Cherokee City-County Library at 123 S. Grand Ave., Cherokee, OK 73728.