Corinne Elizabeth Van Buren

Corinne Elizabeth (Sells) (Gauger) Van Buren was born April 1, 1940, in Columbus, Ohio and completed her earthly journey on October 26, 2026. She was preceded in death by her parents, Stanley N and Irene W Sells and her first husband, Ronald R Gauger and stepson Mark Van Buren. She is survived by her husband, Paul E Van Buren, her brother Stanley D Sells (Diana), her nephews Brian A (Frida) and Aaron B (Sarah) Sells, her sons Jeffrey R Gauger (Michelle), Jonathan J Gauger (Doreen), grandsons Nolan and Henry, and granddaughter Aria. She is also survived by stepdaughter Lisa Van Buren (Sue Gravel); stepsons Randy Van Buren (Lisa) and Gene Van Buren (Marie); as well as stepdaughter-in-law Shari, and step grandchildren Andrew, Stephen, Matthew, Nicole (Skyler), Rachel (Alex), and Reed.

Corinne grew up in Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, and attended all the schools there, receiving a very good education. She was involved in many extracurricular activities, which continued when she attended The Ohio State University. She was president of Kappa Phi and received her BSSW in Social Work. She then went to Washington DC to attend Wesley Theological Seminary to receive her Masters degree in Religious Education. Those two years in DC were tremendously exciting and meaningful for her.

She then went to Madison, Wisconsin to serve as Director of Christian Education at First Methodist Church for five years. She initiated various programs while there: one being the first day care center in the city at that time and which still continues today and which her grandson Nolan attended. It was there that she fell in love with the organist of the church, Ronald Gauger. They were married in 1968 and honeymooned in Europe on a three-week organ tour of six countries. Ron then took a position at the University of Minnesota Duluth teaching organ and eventually becoming Dean of the School of Music. Their sons Jeffrey and Jonathan were born there and it was a happy family time. Then in 1987 Ron was suddenly diagnosed and died of cancer. Corinne served for 14 years at First United Methodist Church in Duluth full time as associate pastor. She also had many leadership positions on state and national Boards.

While serving on the Board of Directors of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, she fell in love with Paul E Van Buren, one of the directors. They were married in May 1994 and made their home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Paul's travel took him to many places and countries and Corinne often tagged along. In 1995 they spent five months teaching at Africa University in Zimbabwe. After Paul's retirement, he developed a project there to provide support for people with AIDS and Corinne participated. In 1997 Corinne was ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church in the Minnesota Annual Conference. As Deacon she served at Rehoboth United Methodist Church in Gallatin. In 1996 Corinne began working at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship providing support in national event planning. She left that position in 2002 and became director of membership for a national organization for people serving in Christian education positions. She retired in 2006.

In retirement Corinne and Paul continued to enjoy traveling to other countries to experience their foods, history, and culture. They have loved living in their home surrounded by woods and good neighbors in Mt. Juliet. When Corinne first retired, she initiated the development of the Charis Health Center in Mt. Juliet for the working uninsured. More recently she was a volunteer for NICE (Nashville International Center for Empowerment). Corinne loved to read, cook, and love her family.