Mary Jean Butters

Mary Jean Butters, 95, passed away on Tuesday, October 9, 2024 in New Mexico. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 28, 1929, the daughter of Mary Grace (Nee Ashcraft) and Harry James Litterst. She was a graduate of the Parker Senior High, Chicago, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and earned a “Letter” in the Girl’s Athletic Association. As a teenager, she served as an officer of the youth of Chicago Presbytery and attended Wilson Junior College. As an adult, she worked feverishly for the Girl Scout movement and sat on the board of the Indian Hills Council in Binghamton, New York, overseeing three camps and approximately 8500 girls. Secretarial work was her forte, having been employed by Allied Mills Research Division in Libertyville, IL; Mann Library at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY; and in Personnel at the Chenango County Court House, Norwich, NY, where she administered Civil Service examinations. When she moved to Wildersville, Tennessee in 1978, she, unexpectedly, became active in politics, serving as president of the Henderson County Republican Women; and vice-president of area 7-B of the state organization. Mrs. Butters was made a Colonel Aide de Camp by Gov. Alexander in 1984, appointed to the Tennessee State Executive Committee by Gov. Sunquist, and subsequently, elected. On Super Tuesday, 1988, she was elected delegate to the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, from the 7th Congressional District, and presumably, to be the only person to do so in the history of Henderson County. The Tennessee Federation of Republican Women honored Mary Jean as being a “Woman of Achievement’ and presented her with a medallion in the year 2000. Mrs. Butters had been the membership chairman for the “Friends of the Library” in Lexington for many years; and was a member of the First United Methodist Church, specifically, of the Deborah Sunday School Class for over 41 years (as of 2019). She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Henry E. Butters II; a son, Mark Wellington Butters; 2 brothers, Ralph Stanton & Robert James Litterst; a sister, Karen Helena Litterst; and a sister-in-law, Ruth A. Litterst. She is survived by a daughter, Mary Beth (Dr. Joseph) Edmiston of Rio Rancho, NM; two sons, Matthew Wade (Debra) Butters of Wildersville, TN and Malcolm Andrew Butters of Wonsocket, RI; and a sister-in-law, Ann Litterst of Suffolk, VA; two grandsons, Joshua Lee Edmiston and Mark Andrew Butters; three step-granddaughters, Amanda (Brian) Hulsey, Jennifer (Dustin) Wallace, and Jing Jing Chen; several step-great grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, October 26, 2024 at Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave. in Libertyville, IL. For those that wish to attend virtually, a livestream link will be available on the funeral home website at the time of services. Interment will follow to Lakeside Cemetery in Libertyville. A visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. followed by a service at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2, 2024 at First United Methodist Church, 27 E. Church St. in Lexington, TN with Pastor Roger Brown officiating. Memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church or the Everett Horn Library in Lexington, TN. For info: 847-362-3009 or share a memory at www.burnettdane.com.

Mary Jean Butters

May 28, 1929 - October 9, 2024