Viola Butler
July 17, 1922 - January 24, 2005
Obituary
Remembering Vi
Viola Butler’s good spirits and positive attitude served her well
throughout her life. She mastered the art of living under difficult
circumstances. She never gave up. She took each day as it came to her,
in stride and in good humor. For that and her caring, and her
sweetness, we love her.
Viola was born on a small farm in Minnesota, one sultry summer day. It
was 1922 and for the next 82 years, this good-natured child would touch
the lives of friends and family and strangers equally with a friendly
smile, a helping hand, and a loving heart.
Her early life was tranquil and happy. She took economic hardships in
stride and learned how to budget and economize. Some would say she
learned how to be stubborn, too. As a small child she was fond of
holding her breath until she passed out just to get her way.
Thankfully, she stopped pulling that stunt when she began going to
school.
After high school graduation, she answered the call to duty everyone in
her generation heard and she moved away from the security of small-town
Minnesota to become a defense worker in Rockford, Illinois. When that
plant shut down, she moved to Seattle and took a job with the Boeing
Company. She was a Rosie the Riveter and she could do it!
After the war, Vi put down her rivet gun and learned a new trade. She
became a bookbinder in the printing industry. For the next 30 plus
years, she worked for the National Lithograph Company and Universal
Printing.
She married Ed Butler and had two daughters. The girls were Vi’s life –
and her most important project to date. She raised them to be loving,
caring, and independent. She encouraged each child to be the best she
could be at whatever she wanted to do or be.
When the girls were young, family camping trips were a regular feature
of every summer. The camper was filled with stuff and ready to go on a
new adventure each weekend. Lake fishing in Eastern Washington and
salmon fishing at Point No Point were highlights. Family and friends
were always welcome and most trips were big expeditions with each
family and their trucks, cars, trailers, boats, and camping equipment.
Vi’s camper kitchen was always open.
Vi devoted her retirement to her home and family. She enjoyed
babysitting and raising her granddaughter during her preschool years.
Vi gardened, traveled a little, sewed, cooked and canned. Specialties
included homegrown grape jelly, her famous fish-dish, and lots of soups
and stews. She bought a bread machine and baked over 1500 loaves, the
last one a few days before she passed away.
She also was an avid puzzler, doing the non-crossword puzzles in the
paper each day. She kept a diary and wrote daily until a few days
before her death. She had a fascination for the weather and the
heavens, keeping tract of the sunrise and sunset each day, noting the
movement of the storms across the country and observing the seasons.
She looked forward to the meteor showers each summer, too.
She loved birds and sprinkled seed out for her flock several times each
day. From her first dog Towser to her last cat, Kitty, she adored
animals and treated them with consideration, if not downright spoiling
them.
For years, she supported charities like the Paralyzed Vets. She enjoyed
volunteering at several community theaters selling tickets and
providing hospitality with her sister Irene. When she was 80 years old,
she worked the local food bank, bagging and dispensing food and clothes
to the needy.
A skillful shopper, she knew the prices at all the grocery stores, and
would run out for this or that nearly every day. She loved to cook and
make desserts. The day before she collapsed from her stroke, she baked
a cake and smothered it with chocolate frosting. It was the sweetest
cake we ever ate.
An avid old-movie fan, she liked to stay up late when the house was
quiet and watch her favorites on TV. It’s a trait that’s been passed
down to all three of her descendants. In later years, her favorite TV
shows were all British: ”EastEnders,” ”Are You Being Served?”
and ”Keeping Up Appearances.” She was an avid Mariner’s fan, too,
enjoying the games on TV.
Her kindness to strangers, her unconditional love of family and her
sweet and gentle ways made her the ideal Mom and the best friend anyone
could ever hope to have. She always saw the good in everyone and
quickly forgave the slights and insults that came her way. She never
asked for anything more than to be treated with respect. She simply
touched our hearts with love and made us happy and appreciated for who
we were. Vi will always be remembered with a smile. Hers was the open
heart filled with love. That is her legacy.
Memorials may be made to SeaTac Medic One, c/o King County Medic One,
7064 S. 220th, Building #9, Kent, WA 98032.
There is No Death
There is no death! The stars go down
To rise upon some fairer shore:
And bright in Heaven’s jeweled crown
They shine forever more.
There is no death! The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grains of mellowed fruit,
Or rainbow-tinted flowers.
There is no death! The leaves may fall,
And flowers may fade and pass away;
They only wait through wintery hours
For the coming of the May.
There is no death! An angel form
Walks o’er the earth with silent tread;
He bears our best loved things away;
And then we call them ”dead.”
The bird-like voice, whose joyous tones
Made glad these scenes of sin and strife,
Sings now an everlasting song,
Around the tree of life.
Where’er he sees a smile too bright,
Or heart too pure for taint and vice,
He bears it to that world of light,
To dwell in Paradise.
Born unto that undying life,
They leave us but to come again;
With joy we welcome them the same
Freed from sin and pain.
And ever near us, though unseen,
The dear immortal spirits tread;
For all the boundless universe
Is life — there are no dead.
~From the mid-19th century collection ”Guests of the Heart”~
To everything there is a season,
a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
~Ecclesiastes 3
Love you, Mom
I am sorry about your loss. I hope scriptures like Rev. 21:3,4, John 5:28,29, and Acts 24:15 will comfort all of you during this most painful time.
Sincerely yours,
Elaine Jones