Service for Mildred Buster 11 a.m. Monday at cemetery

Mildred Martin Buster

A graveside service will be held at Midway Cemetery at 11 a.m. Monday, June 10, for Mildred Martin Buster, who died at her Audubon Farm on June 4 at the age of 99.

Buster was a founder of the Logan-Helm Woodford County Library, served as a board member for many years and helped start a branch library in Midway with her friend Helen Hicks. She was a lifetime member of the Woodford County Historical Society and New Union Christian Church on Old Frankfort Pike. She spent many years working to ensure that the church’s landscaping was maintained for the congregation to enjoy. The church's former pastor, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, will officiate at the services.

At Audubon, on Moores Mill Road, she maintained extensive gardens that were visited by many throughout the years. She was an original and longtime member of The Little Garden Club of Woodford County, which she served as president in 1963- 65. In 1991, she and Kristina Minister initiated the Midway African-American Oral History Project.

She and and her late husband, Gen. William R. Buster, who led the Kentucky Historical Society in 1973-83 and died in 1995, gave many years of service to Midway University. In 1995, she started the Ruth Slack Roach Leadership-Scholarship Program in honor of her late, close friend. Memorial gifts to the fund are suggested in lieu of flowers.

A Woodford County native, Buster was a graduate of Margaret Hall in Versailles, Stuart Hall in Virginia and Pine Manor College in Massachusetts. She was known as “Marmee” to close family members, who surrounded her at the end of her life.

She is survived by her son, William R. Buster Jr., of San Leandro, Calif.; two daughters, Kathryn Martin Buster (who is in the process of relocating to Kentucky after more than 40 years in Colorado) and Martha Buster Martin (David Lynn) of Midway; two granddaughters, Kathryn Todd Martin (Benjamin Baranek) and Jessica Martin Gwaltney (William) of Lexington. They "remember fondly their childhoods on the farm and spending time with her," her obituary said. "Katie and Jessica are grateful for the many things they learned from Marmee, such as cooking, reading, enjoying good food, a love of exploring the world through travel, and an appreciation for beautiful flowers. In the final years of her life, Mildred found joy through spending time with her great-grandchildren, Caroline Todd Gwaltney and William James Gwaltney."

Milward Funeral Directors of Lexington is in charge of arrangements.