Marie Elizabeth Kachel

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Obituary: in 2008 in , Lancaster, PA. Marie Elizabeth Kachel Bucher, a schoolteacher and the last surviving member of the German Seventh-Day Baptists at Ephrata, PA, died early Sunday morning, July 27, at the Quarryville Presbyterian Home, where she had resided since November 2007. She was 98 years old.

Born in 1909, Marie lived the early part of her life at Shady Nook Farm, located on what is now the Ephrata Cloister, a National Historic Landmark administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Growing up on the Cloister property before it was purchased by the state of Pennsylvania, she and her family members gave tours to visitors who wished to see the Cloister. Marie was the daughter of Reuben S. Kachel and M. Kathryn Zerfass Kachel. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Daniel S. Kachel; her four sisters, Kitty Kachel Strickler, Dorothy Kachel Grabill, Margaret P. Kachel, and Ruth Kachel Donough; and her husband, Loren H. Bucher.

Marie graduated from Ephrata High School in 1927. She earned a BS in Education from Millersville State Teachers College in 1935, and the degree of Master of Education from Penn State in 1939. She also studied at Elizabethtown College and Duke University. Marie began her teaching career in a one-room school in Clay Township. She later moved to southern Lancaster County to take a position in the East Drumore Township school system. She concluded her teaching career in the public schools as a math teacher at Solanco High School.

In 1945, she married Loren H. Bucher, a farmer in East Drumore Township. As the wife of a farmer, Marie joined the Society of Farm Women and was an active member of Society #11 for many years. She volunteered as a leader in 4H Clubs. Although she never formally joined the Church of the Brethren, she was active in the Mechanic Grove congregation, where for many years she taught an adult Bible Study class. In 1997, at the age of 87, she researched and wrote a history of the Mechanic Grove congregation, "A Century of Service at the Grove." She enjoyed reading, gardening, birdwatching, stargazing, and traveling.

She is survived by her son, Loren K. Bucher, Quarryville; her daughter, Christina Bucher, married to Theodore M. Bushong, Elizabethtown; and her two grandsons, Theodore Zachary Bucher Bushong and Matthew James Bucher Bushong, Elizabethtown. A funeral service will occur in the Saal at the Ephrata Cloister on Thursday, July 31, at 10 a.m., with burial to follow in Mt. Zion Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at the Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren on Sunday, August 10, at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marie's memory to Hospice of Lancaster County, PO Box 4125, Lancaster, PA, 17604-4125, or to Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren, 1392 Robert Fulton Hwy., Quarryville, PA, 17566. Dewald Funeral & Cremation Services is assisting the family.

2. Book: Wikipedia, 2008.
From Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Kachel_Bucher :

Marie Elizabeth Kachel was born in 1909.[1] Her parents were Reuben S. Kachel and M. Kathryn Zerfass Kachel. She had four sisters and one brother.[1] She was raised on Shady Nook Farm during her early life, which was located in what is now known as the Ephrata Cloister.[1] Her family, who were one of its last residents, often gave tours of the Ephrata Cloister, which was founded by Johann Conrad Beissel in 1732.[1] The Ephrata Cloister was later purchased by the state of Pennsylvania. Today the Ephrata Cloister is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as a state museum and tourist attraction.[1]
Kachel graduated from Ephrata High School in 1927.[1] She earned her bachelor's of science degree from Millersville State Teachers College, which is now known as Millersville University, in 1935.[1] She later earned her Masters degree in education from Penn State University in 1939.[1] Additionally, Kachel also studied at Duke University and Elizabethtown College.[1]
Kachel began her teaching career at a one room schoolhouse in Clay Township, Pennsylvania, in northern Lancaster County.[1] She later moved to southern Lancaster County to take a position in the now-defunct East Drumore Township school district.[1] She retired from teaching after working as a math teacher at Solanco High School, a public high school for many years.[1]
Kachel married her husband, Loren H. Bucher, an East Drumore Township farmer, in 1945.[1] They had two children, Loren K. Bucher and Christina Bucher.[1] Kachel Bucher never formally joined the Church of the Brethren, but taught adult Bible study and remained active in the Church's congregation in Mechanics Grove, Pennsylvania.[1] In her later years, Bucher wrote and researched a book on the history of the Church of the Brethren's Mechanics Grove congregation entitled "A Century of Service at the Grove". Bucher was 87 years old when the book was written and published in 1997.[1]
Marie Elizabeth Kachel Bucher died at the Quarryville Presbyterian Home in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98.[1] She had resided at the nursing home since November 2007.[1] Her death marked the passing of the last surviving resident of the Ephrata Cloister.[1] Her funeral was held at the Saal at the Ephrata Cloister on July 31, 2008, and she was buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery.[1]
Bucher was survived by her children, Loren and Christina. She had been preceded in death by her husband and her siblings; four sisters - Kitty Kachel Strickler, Dorothy Kachel Grabill, Margaret P. Kachel, and Ruth Kachel Donough - and her brother, Daniel S. Kachel.

Marie married Loren Heddings Bucher, son of Aaron Pautz Bucher and Christianna May Headings, in 1945 in , Lancaster, PA. (Loren Heddings Bucher was born on 6 Feb 1911 in , , MI ^{1 2} and died on 10 Sep 2003 in Lancaster, Lancaster, PA ².)