Grace Miller Buckwalter

Grace Miller Buckwalter, 96, of Moravian Manor, died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Grace was born in Upper Leacock to her parents, John Burton Miller, and Helen Wenger Miller, on a beautiful farm in Bareville. Grace graduated valedictorian of the class of 1944 Upper Leacock High School. Three years later, she graduated valedictorian with a Bachelors degree from the 1947 class at Pennsylvania State University. The same year, Grace married Raymond Ranck Buckwalter upon his return from military service in World War II in the Philippines and New Guinea. In Lancaster, Grace served as president of the Towne Club of Lancaster in the 1960’s. She was a board member of the Mental Health Association of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster Day Nursery. Grace became a member of the Unitarian –Universalist Church of Lancaster in 1966, where she served as Adult Program Chairman, Sunday School teacher and administrative assistant, and Board of Trustees. In 1976, at the age of 50, Grace returned to Penn State and obtained a master’s degree in psychology and spent a year as a board member of Pennsylvania’s Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) Program. During her service, Grace designed a Lancaster-County home-based service using a “case-manager” concept that was adopted throughout Pennsylvania’s MHMR Program. In 1979, Grace and Raymond engaged the renowned architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen of Washington DC to design a contemporary house. The house, known as the “Telescope House,” was designed with a unique traditional front façade of Lancaster County farmhouses, with seven gables of declining size, barn doors at the smallest end, and a wall of all glass on the largest side. The home, built by Buckwalter Construction, became a defining moment in Hugh Jacobsen’s career, featured in over 40 publications, including the New York Times, Architectural Digest, the Washington Post, and winning house of the year awards in numerous publications. Grace personally maintained the home and surrounding gardens in perfect condition and hosted many charitable events and showings there over the years. In the 1980s, Grace took on a keen interest in gardens, successfully completed the Master Gardener program and volunteered as part of the program throughout southcentral Pennsylvania. Grace created a veritable Garden of Eden at her home, with hundreds of plants native to Pennsylvania. Grace was an active and enthusiastic member of LancasterHistory and hosted giving events and donated the Buckwalter Room at the Lancaster Campus of History. Grace was also a member of PEO, with a mission close to Grace's heart, the uplifting of women worldwide through education. Grace had an endless wonder of other cultures and languages. She traveled with her family and friends to all 50 states, 10 Canadian provinces, as well as over 100 countries. Annual trips to Stone Harbor, NJ with extended family were always the highlight of every year. After her husband Raymond passed away in 2009, Grace resided at Willow Valley, before moving to Moravian Manor in Lititz, where she enjoyed downtown Lititz and walks to Lititz Springs Park. Visitors, residents and nurses were all blessed by her cheerful smile and sunny demeanor. Grace Buckwalter was a warm, funny, and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend with a seemingly endless amount of enthusiasm, energy, and excitement of life, who will be missed immensely and live on in fond memories. Surviving are daughter, Jennifer Ann Buckwalter; son, John Eric Buckwalter, his wife Cynthia Christman Buckwalter; two grandsons, Eric Raymond Buckwalter, Eric’s wife Lauren Angela Buckwalter, and Evan John Buckwalter. Grace was predeceased by her younger sisters, Mary Lou Briggs and Joan Miller Mowbray. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made in Grace’s memory to Lancaster County Historical Society, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603 or Moravian Manor Benevolent Fund, 300 W. Lemon Street, Lititz, PA 17543.