Published on December 30, 2025 6:18 am
Last Updated on December 30, 2025 3:01 pm
Lillian Lavern Buff, 104, passed away peacefully at 8:45 a.m. on Monday, December 29, 2025, at her home in Avena, Illinois, surrounded by her loving family.
A Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m., Friday, January 2, 2026 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Elmo with Rev. Ron M. Lorilla officiating. Burial will follow at St. Bonaventure Cemetery, rural St. Elmo. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until service time at the church. Memorials may be made to St. Mary’s Catholic Church or St. Bonaventure Cemetery. Gieseking Funeral Home, Brownstown is assisting the family with arrangements.
Lavern was born on Monday, December 5, 1921, at her home in Brownstown, Illinois, the daughter of Charles and Maude (Rine) Porter. She married Quinto Buff on September 23, 1941, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in St. Elmo, Illinois. Together they shared more than 50 years of marriage until Quinto preceded her in death on March 23, 1993. A devoted member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Lavern found joy in simple things. She loved spending time outdoors, tending her yard and flowers, and was especially known for cooking and baking for her family. Lavern and Quinto worked side by side on their family farm, raising livestock, operating a dairy, and growing grain. Despite her many talents and hard work, her greatest joy and deepest love was always her family. She was happiest when her home was filled with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren. Before their family grew, Lavern and Quinto enjoyed making wine together and dancing the polka – memories she treasured and delighted in sharing with others. A humble woman with a lifelong curiosity, Lavern was never too old to learn something new, teaching herself to quilt in her seventies.
She is survived by her 4 children, Margaret Mayfield of Girard, Illinois, Esther Koeberlein of Brownstown, Illinois, Leno Buff of Mt. Zion, Loretta Lilly (husband Nick) of Moro, Illinois, 10 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, 17 great-great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Quinto Buff, 3 sons-in-law, 1 daughter-in-law, 6 siblings, Violet Durbin, Sarah (Jack) Grandfield, Dorothy Feezel, Emma Stiner, Charles Porter and James ‘Jim’ Porter and her parents Charles and Maude Porter.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.giesekingfh.com.