Kaye S. Buchanan

Our mother, Kaye S. Buchanan, age 83 and of Little River, SC, passed away on Thursday, October 10, 2024. Originally from Durham, NC, she was the oldest child of Pauline and Pete Seagroves and the big sister of Nancy, Ted and Steve. She married her high school sweetheart, Allan McDuffie, and became an Air Force spouse, moving our growing family up and down the east coast of the US until his military retirement, when we settled in Wilmington, NC. For the next ten years she was a wife, mother to her four children – Craig, Scott, Cindy and Tracy – and part-time typist, working from home long before it was called “remote.” When their marriage came to an end she took a full-time administrative job at a local textile mill. There she met and fell in love with Gene “Buck” Buchanan. She began her next journey when they decided to marry, moving to work at several different textile mills around the US until Buck retired in 1998 and they moved to Little River to be close to the beach and golf courses. After he passed away in 2006 she continued to work the reservation desk at the old beachfront Mar Vista Motel, retiring a few years later. After that, she enjoyed frequent visits with family, friends and kind neighbors and kept a regular appointment with her hair dresser. But mostly she loved living quietly in the home she had filled with photos and keepsakes until her son, Scott, moved in to help care for her. She was her children’s biggest fan, unfailingly in their corners and loving them unconditionally. That love and support extended to her two step daughters, Kathy and Karen, and then to her grandchildren and to everyone’s extended and chosen families. For her children’s generation of friends, she was Mama Kaye, always having an open door and lending an ear. At some imprecise point she was promoted to Grandma Kaye, a cushier senior level position that she relished. She always had gifts, something to hand out that no one needed, bought in bulk – it’s the thought that counts – and if you gave her something, especially if you’d made it yourself, it was saved forever. Exemplifying her spirit, two of her favorite words were “cool” and “awesome.” In the final weeks her words were often and understandably not as positive, but they were always followed by “Love you.” Rest well Mom, we will miss you terribly.