ROYAL CITY - Georg Buchheim, who was the mayor of Royal City and a "character," according to her friends, died at her home on Oct. 14 after a short bout with lung cancer. She was 83.

Mrs. Buchheim's sons, Patrick (Lyda) Lowrance of Kennewick and Buddy Buchheim of Burbank, were at her side when she died.

Mrs. Buchheim won't be soon forgotten. Whether she was working for a living or serving the community, she was known by most Royal Citians. Many called her Grandma Georg.

Mrs. Buchheim left her friends with countless stories, starting with her name. Although it's listed as Georgia Ann in her obituary, she insisted it was not Georgia. She said her father George named her after himself and dropped the "e".

After her funeral mass on Oct. 20, as people reminisced about Mrs. Buchheim, a story was told about her name. She didn't have one for years and was called only "baby." Her father named her when she was baptized.

Mrs. Buchheim told several friends her name caused her to be drafted by the U.S. Army in the 1940s. Her father had to produce identifying documents to get her off the hook.

Mrs. Buchheim was born in 1928 to George and Ester (Snelson) Wernecke in Genesee, Idaho. She was raised in Pomeroy, where she became a musician of renown, singing with several country bands.

Mrs. Buchheim was also her father's "right hand man," learning to drive trucks at the age of 12. He created aids that would help her reach the pedals.

"She was the first woman truck driver in the state of Washington," said old friend Leslie Fanning.

"She knew the lingo," added Nancy Callahan, another longtime friend. "She could chew out our drivers. She was the only one who could strike fear in them."

Dean Callahan recalled an incident at a beet dump one fall, when another driver drew Mrs. Buchheim's ire. A gap had developed in the line of trucks waiting to unload as drivers chatted, and one fellow tried to leapfrog several other drivers.

"She pulled a beet knife out of her truck and went after him," Dean said. "He went to the back of the line and was very humble after that."

Nancy Callahan recalled that Mrs. Buchheim called on Dean rather often for peculiar tasks. One of those times Dean had to take his crane to the dump to retrieve a trash truck that had fallen in.

Mrs. Buchheim came to Royal City in 1970 with her husband Howard and their sons Pat and Bud. They brought their business, Buchheim Trucking, with them.

"They hauled a lot of sugar beets," Dean Callahan said.

The Buchheims developed the Royal Coachmen Trailer Court. Mrs. Buchheim was AgriPac manager for the Callahans. She was owner-manager of the Royal Motel.

"She did the roofing herself on the motel," Nancy Callahan said.

Mrs. Buchheim became involved in the community not long after her arrival. She was a member of the Royal City Chamber of Commerce, serving as president. She was a chairman, judge and chaperone for the Junior Miss program.

"She built the floats for 10 years or more," Fanning said.

Mrs. Buchheim was a part of the local political scene. She served on the Royal City Council and was mayor of Royal City for three terms.

In 1984, Mrs. Buchheim was named grand marshal of Summerfest and Royal City citizen of the year.

A die-hard Royal Knights football fan, she was honored by Royal High with reserved parking at the football field.