Gaye Rudell Buchanan

Gaye Rudell Buchanan (1960-2025)

Gaye Buchanan (née Hoch), beloved wife, mother of three, and grandmother to two children fell asleep in the Lord on March 18, 2025, after a battle with euthyroid leukemia.

Gaye was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania on September 8, 1960 to Harold and Carole Hoch. She spent her early childhood in Lancaster. Later, her family relocated to Alaska to serve as missionaries by teaching native children at a school in the Matanuska Valley. After spending her high school years in Alaska, she moved to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute. It was there that she met her best friend, Lynette. Gaye completed her undergraduate studies at Trinity College in Deerfield, IL. She then studied at Capenwray in England before going to Wheaton College and earning a master's degree in missions.

Gaye and Lynette had planned to enter the mission field, but after two weeks of training were told "go home and get married and then think about missions." Although highly offended, they dutifully obliged. Gaye met and married Thomas Steven Buchanan and found her calling to create a family.

Gaye and Tom first lived in Chicago where they had three children: Rebecca Rudell, Stephen Thomas, and Benjamin Hoch. They moved to Pennsylvania shortly after Ben's birth.

Gaye devoted herself to her children and homeschooled them up until high school. More recently, she loved being a grandmother to Marin and Rhea, daughters of Rebecca and her husband, Robert McGraw. She was especially excited to have a new daughter-in-law when Ben married Mikayla last August.

Gaye was also a musician and artist. She played the piano and sang in many choirs and choral groups, and her talents included mosaics, iconography, and knitting. She had many friends and lived to be a source of encouragement to those she loved.

She loved to travel with her husband, especially to spend time in South Carolina with many dear friends in the Hilton Head/Beaufort area. She was always active in church and loved the Orthodox Church in which her family was chrismated in 1993. Gaye is remembered as a beloved godmother to many.

Besides her husband, children and grandchildren, Gaye is survived by her parents and her brother Brian Hoch of Aurora, Colorado.

The funeral service will be at St Philip's Orthodox Church, 1970 Clearview Rd., Souderton, Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 22. The viewing will be at 9:30 am and the funeral service will begin at 10:00. A Divine Liturgy at 8:00 am will precede the funeral for those that wish to attend.

Huff & Lakjer Funeral Home, Lansdale, is handling arrangements.