Erika Maria Buck

of Beltsville, Maryland, passed away after a long illness. Formerly of Brooklyn , New York.

Wife of the late George Theodore Buck; Beloved mother of sons, Stephen and Kenneth, daughters-in-law, Sallie Eubank Buck and Maureen Brogan Buck and the late Martin Buck; sister of her twin, Wilma Baisch and the late Eleanor Krachenfels. Loving grandmother of Helen Paige and Eleanor Grace.

Erika, was born on January 23 1931 in Brooklyn, NY to parents who emigrated from Germany.  Her parents, Meta and Eric Meyer worked in a delicatessen in the Ridgewood neighborhood in Queens, NY.

Erika graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in 1949 and enjoyed drawing and pastels. She worked for Bayer in Manhattan.

Erika married George Buck in 1953 and had 3 sons, Stephen in 1955, Kenneth in 1958 and Martin in 1961. Mom was a fantastic den mother for her sons who were Cub Scouts.

Erika enjoyed vacationing at her mother’s home in Elizaville, New York with her sisters and cousins.

She worked for C&P Telephone and Verizon for 17 years after moving to Beltsville in 1964.  The family joined The Lutheran Church of the Abiding Presence in 1965.

In 1967, the family drove to Montreal, Canada to camp and visit the world exposition, Expo ’67.

In 1972  Stephen brought home a puppy named Linda that became mom’s closest pal.

Her son, Martin died in an accident in 1975 and her husband, George died in 1976.

She loves cats and has had cats as pets since 1960.

She was a wonderful cook and made many German specialties in addition to being an outstanding baker. She was known for her Lemon Meringue pie, Stephen’s favorite, and her Christmas cookies of which she made nearly 10 different types each holiday.