I went to Trinity Mission and visited Buna Guthrie to do an article for her “100th” birthday (August 5th, 2010.) I was greeted with a hug and so much warmth I never wanted to leave. She told me of her love of Christ and how life had no meaning without him.

She told me about her husband and their three children and how they were the love of her life. “Otis Guthrie was my pride and joy. We had a real good time together and we had three little girls. Betty Jo, Patsy Ruth and Carol Ann. There is three and a half years in between each one. We were married sixty five years, one month and twenty days.”

Buna told me this story about the time she picked cotton. “Otis was a cotton farmer. I loved the cotton. When the cotton would start to pop open, I thought that was the prettiest stuff. It was like popcorn. When they went to picking cotton I said I wanted a cotton sack too because I knew I could pick a wagon full in a day.” She went on to say laughingly, “I couldn’t pick a bag full. That stuff just eats your fingers up and they gave us gloves but left the fingers out and the fingers are what hurts.”

Buna told me she came to Italy just a few days short of her fifteenth birthday and has lived in Italy most of her life.

Buna joined Central Baptist Church of Italy when her daughter Carol Ann was around nine months old. “Actually, I moved my letter and have been a member ever since. I used to work in the nursery. Oh, how I loved those kids. Sometimes they would act up a little, but I loved them and they loved me.”

Being a Christian is very important to Buna and she told me the story of how her husband Otis got saved.

“I raised my children at the Central Baptist Church. My husband was not a Christian then, but he always saw that we got to church. He was a good loyal man, a good husband, a good father and a good neighbor but he just wasn’t a Christian. You just didn’t talk to him about it because he was not going to hear it.
My oldest daughter, Betty, got married to Bobby Jackson. They lived in Milford. We always wanted a son and never had one. But our son-in-law was everything we would want in a son. He was a good moral Christian man. He worked in Dallas and there was coming a rainstorm and he missed the driveway and hit the butt end of a concrete culvert and he died from the wreck. They had two little boys and that was a sad time for us. That is when my husband was saved. We were coming home from over at Milford. He had never asked me what he could do to get saved but he did that day. I asked him if he knew his Lord as his Savior and he said no. He would always tell me that he had friends that were nice and didn’t go to church and I would say, but honey, that won’t save them. I would always pray for him. I would see him get up late at night and just walk the floor, the Lord was asking and he was saying no. On the Sunday after Bobby was buried, he went to church. When I was in church I couldn’t find that man anywhere. I decided he didn’t want to stay for church but the next time I saw him he was in the baptistry. But honest to goodness I felt like I was high off the floor. My husband was just a different man after he got saved.”

I decided to ask some of the citizens of Italy what some of their memories were of Buna and this is what they said.

What Chuck Adams remembers most about Sunday School is he liked to go. Mrs. Guthrie made it fun and interesting, it was fun because she was there. He really liked Sunday School because of Buna.

Terri Adams said “I remember bringing my kids to her class. She always made the kids happy but still made them mind. She always made sure they had a good time and learned about Jesus. Chuck and I really appreciated Buna, how sweet she was to teach our kids. And how she loved and cared about our kids. We love her and appreciate her.”

Kim Varner said, “The thing I remember most about Buna is her playing with the kids in the nursery and teaching them God’s love. She always was showing God’s love unconditionally to His little children.”

Karen Mathiowetz said, “Buna Guthrie held me in the nursery at Central Baptist Church my first Sunday on this earth and that started a lifelong loving relationship. Things were not always perfect at our home and I think she recognized that. One Sunday when I was three years old, she took me home with her and began to spoil me rotten. She gave me a thimble to cut my own homemade biscuits with. She and her husband, Otis, gave me enough love to last a lifetime. I would cry to stay with her and she let me. I am very proud to be one of her kids and so thankful God has allowed her to live such a long and spirit filled life. She worked in the nursery at Central for over 40 years.”

Karen went on to say, “Here is a story I remember: One Sunday morning when I was 4 she got me ready for church. My hair was so long I could sit on it. She would put it up in a bun and put flowers around it. I had on a pretty dress with a white pinafore she had made. She put my white socks with the lace on me and my white patent shoes. She told me not to get dirty. Of course I really listened to her and the first chance I got I headed outside for the pig pen. I wanted to feed the baby pigs. It had rained and it was very muddy outside. I got mud everywhere on me. When she caught me she was so angry! She undressed me, put me in the tub, got the mud off and redressed me. She sat me in the middle of the bed and told me not to move. And I did not move. I remember trying not to blink my eyes. She and I either one will never forget that day. She loves to tell that story and I love to hear it over and over. It is a special memory we share.”

Mark Wainscott said, “Mrs. Guthrie has been a blessing in my life from an early age. She filled the surrogate role of a grandmother for me, and I will forever be grateful for the time and lessons learned from her. She will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Brenda Wainscott said, “Buna touched so many lives and two of them were my children, Mark and Debra. She was their adopted Grandmother. Mark would spend the night with her and cry because he had to come home! Buna would always have Debra help her in the garden and help her shell peas. Mark loves her so much that when he was getting married he asked Buna to sit in the grandmother seat for his wedding. She is a Godly woman and she touched so many lives with her sweet spirit.”

Anne Hyles said, “Most wonderful Christian lady I ever knew. The children’s nursery was her ministry. She always loved and took care of all the children with joy and grace. She was a wonderful witness to the little ones.”

Linda Ware said, “Sweet as sweet can be, she is just wonderful. She made quilts for each one of my children. I just love her to pieces.”

When I asked Buna how it feels to be one hundred years old she said, “I feel one hundred. People say oh, you don’t look one hundred but I really feel it. My pride and joy was to raise my family and do the very best I could by them. I wanted to raise them to be big enough and to know enough to take care of themselves. I was always afraid I wouldn’t live long enough to do it and here I sit a hundred years old and I was able to do it. My favorite thing was out living my prayers because I would pray that I would live long enough to take care of my children and I did.”

Happy Birthday Buna Guthrie!