Endowed Fund Benefits Region
Margaret and Samuel Bucher
The Harman Mountain Clinic
Dr. Samuel and Kathryn Hostetter Bucher
Endowed Fund Benefits Region – November 7, 2016 – The children of Samuel and Margaret Bucher (step children of Kathryn Bucher) have created the Bucher Family Fund to honor their memory and continue their legacy. The fund supports initiatives that promote community development, health, gardening, use of natural resources, alternate energy, historical preservation and spirituality. The donor-advised fund will benefit communities in Randolph, Tucker, Pendleton, & Barbour Counties.
According to family members, “Samuel Jacob and Margaret Mae Mininger Bucher, a young doctor and nurse, moved to Harman, WV from southeastern Pennsylvania in 1946. At that time, during WWII, the area was without a doctor and was considered a “national medical emergency” area. Choosing public service rather than military service, they wanted to practice medicine in an area of need – so to Harman, WV they came and stayed. They practiced medicine, raised a family, became pillars of their community and thrived in the sheer beauty of the mountains and the Appalachian culture.”
Dr. Bucher’s medical work spanned 44 years (1946-1990). He delivered more than fifteen hundred babies in those years and made countless house calls. For many years his “Mountain Clinic” provided in-patient rooms for obstetrical patients. While the primary clinic and office were located in Harman he also opened branch offices in Riverton and Davis.
During the years many nurses served with Dr. Bucher in the medical work. After his first wife, Margaret died in 1987; he married Kathryn Ellen Hostetter, a nurse that had worked with Samuel and Margaret for over thirty years. Kathryn was also well-known and loved by the community.
Samuel and Margaret were the parents of 4 children. Sarah Ellen and husband Dr. Herbert E Myers have three daughters, Karen Lynne, Brenda Ivonne and Susan Janelle, and 7 grandchildren (one deceased). Samuel Jonathan and wife Esther Marie Shank have two children, Anthony David and Bonnie Kay, and 4 grandchildren. Mary Beth and husband Lester Lee Lind, and Joseph Daniel and wife Judy Marie Pierantoni have two sons Luke Daniel and Jason Louis and 3 grandchildren. As fund advisors, the four children will make recommendation on annual distributions from the fund.
Samuel and Margaret were deeply involved in their community. In addition to serving the medical needs of the community they both served in many capacities in the local Mennonite church and in the community. Margaret was one of the founders of the Pioneer Memorial Library in Harman. In 1964, seeing the value of local crafts and wanting to preserve them, she opened The Old Mill to the public for tours. This water powered grist mill served as a venue for selling and supporting local crafts. She brought master crafts persons to The Old Mill for weekend workshops. She learned to weave and promoted weaving classes.
The natural beauty surrounding them in West Virginia was a constant pleasure for the Buchers which they enjoyed sharing with family and friends. Making many house calls during the early years of medical practice familiarized Dr. Bucher with very remote places. Family and friends remember many delightful “truck trips” piled into the back of a pick-up truck driven by Doc with a hearty picnic lunch prepared by Margaret.
Samuel and Margaret were innovative and creative each in their own way. Samuel liked to experiment with alternative energy especially water power. He was also one of the first in the area to use 2-way radios to enhance communication which enabled more efficiency in his medical practice. For Margaret, her garden and her craft work served as her creative and generative outlet. She grew something new every year and saved and preserved the heritage seeds of the area.
The children of Samuel and Margaret created the endowment to honor and preserve the legacy of their parents. The fund is invested for growth and income preserving the historical value of each donation and generating an annual grant that will forever benefit communities throughout the four-county region.
The Bucher Family recognizes that many people share the interests and values identified in the fund purpose and invite others to support those initiatives by contributing to the fund. Tax deductible donations may be made payable to TCF-Bucher Family Fund and mailed to Tucker Community Foundation, PO Box 491, Parsons, WV 26287.
Tucker Community Foundation serves Barbour, Grant, Mineral, Preston, Pocahontas, Randolph, Tucker Counties, West Virginia and Garrett County, Maryland. For more information, contact the TCF Development Office at 304-259-5008.
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