Wilma Josephine Buss, 76, of Gothenburg died Aug. 19, 1999, at Lincoln. She was born Nov. 25, 1922, to Joseph William and Hazel Della Hampson Armitage on a farm near Farnam. Her father worked on farms and the railroad so they moved a lot and lived in boxcars along the railroad lines. She graduated from Brainard High School in 1942. After graduation she worked at Curtiss-Wright and two other defense plants in Buffalo, N.Y., during World War II.

On June 9, 1946, she married William J. Buss at Phillipsburg, Kan. They had two daughters, Karla Hazel and Kerry Wilma. They lived on a farm 15 miles north of Gothenburg from September 1946 until March 1950. They lived on farms in the Norfolk and Hoskins area until 1964 when they returned to Gothenburg. While living on the farm at Meadow Grove and after the death of her brother-in-law, Edwin, his three sons, Steve, Lenny and Jim, came to live with them. They considered them the sons they never had. She and her husband also had a special bond with the boys’ older siblings, Connie and Larry. Her husband preceded her in death May 6, 1987.

Mrs. Buss was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary and the American Lutheran Church. She enjoyed going to the Senior Center and playing cards. She also enjoyed having card parties in her home. Her favorite pastime was writing letters to friends and relatives.

Survivors include her two daughters, Karla (John) Fecht of Johnson Lake; Kerry (Dennis) Adams of Lincoln; two sisters, Donna (Dennis) Ohnoutka of Lincoln and Helen (R.D.) McWilliams of Grand Junction, Colo.; a brother, Melvin (Henrietta) Armitage of Hadar; two sisters-in-law, Gladys Armitage of Cheyenne, Wyo., and Glenna Armitage of Pilger; six grandchildren, Kevin Pohl, Jeff and Tom Fecht, Jason (Nicole) Adams, Tisha (Mark) Stewart and Rachel Pecka; three great-granddaughters, Alisa and Samantha Pecka and Michaela Fecht; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her stepmother, Naomi; a sister, Eula Buss; and three brothers, Robert, Wayne and Eldon.

Memorials are suggested to the American Lutheran Church or American Cancer Society.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the American Lutheran Church in Gothenburg. Burial will be in the Gothenburg Cemetery.

The North Platte Telegraph, August 20, 1999.