Mary Butler

The services celebrating and honoring the extraordinary life of Mary Catherine (McMillen) Butler, 96, of Oklahoma City, formerly of Enid, will be held at 2:00 P.M. Friday April 8, 2022, at First United Methodist Church in Enid with the Rev. Devon Krause and Rev. Susan Southall officiating. Burial will follow at the Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.

Mary McMillen Butler was born at home near Enid, Oklahoma on July 4, 1925 to RW and Mary McMillen.  At the time of her birth, the doctor remarked that she was the ugliest baby he had ever seen.  When he came back in two months to do a check-up, he accused Mary’s parents of switching her with another baby because she had become so beautiful.

Her love of swimming came very early in life because she loved playing in the farm ponds near their home.  However, she almost drowned at Lake Helena causing her mother to take Mary to Government Springs Park for swimming lessons from the Red Cross.  Mary was slightly uncoordinated and did not pass her swimming tests until she was 40, but she never gave up.

While attending Enid High School she received special permission to miss first hour.  Mary worked at the family dairy before school milking cows, bottling milk, and delivering it to customers, all before 9:00 A.M..  After school she did the same thing.  It was a hard schedule, but once more, Mary persevered.

As a teenager, Mary was a national 4-H winner and multiple champion winner with her dairy cows, but left it all behind to take care of her grandparents in Illinois until their death.

Mary met the love of her life, Lacey Butler, shortly after WW2 ended.  They were married within four weeks of their first date and attended Oklahoma A&M.  After 20 years of marriage and four children, Mary, aged 40, wanted to go to work as a lunch lady to help augment the farm income.  Lacey told her no, insisting that she go back to college to get her degree and fulfill her dream for teaching.  Eventually, she earned a Master’s degree and became an elementary school principal, helping to break the glass ceiling for other women in school administration.  To this day, many of her school children have continued to keep in touch.

Mary dedicated her life to serving others, from church groups to the PEO. She was living proof of never giving up one’s dreams and the importance of finishing school, both of which PEO embraced. She also loved the mission of the YWCA, serving on their board of directors. After making and donating thousands of quilts for abused children and dialysis patients, she was named YWCA Woman of the Year. An exceptional quilter, Mary continued to make and donate quilts for the YWCA well into her 90s. During the COVID pandemic, Mary immediately began sewing face masks for those in her retirement community.

Mary Butler’s legacy includes a loving heart, generous character, and a deep faith in God.  Starting school in a one-room schoolhouse she continued her love of learning, encouraging her family to honor the power of education. Mary was an advocate for the rejected and disenfranchised, and treated people with kindness, dignity and respect no matter who they were.

Surviving relatives include her sister Francis Miller; children: Dan Butler, Ann Worden (Randy), Kathryn Turner (Craig), daughters-in-law Glenace and Kathie Butler; grandchildren: Jennie Scott, Philip Butler (Casey), Stacy Blattner (Jeff), Sandy Worden, Alexandra Turner, Mathew Turner (Amanda), Kacie Martin (Tyler), Mary Nemcok (Jeffrey), Glen Habbershaw; 14 great grandchildren:  Edward, Aline, Aiden, Addie, Matthew, Grace, Emery, Ella Kate, Ford, Luke, Penelope, Maria, Anna, and Faith; as well as numerous family and friends.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, brother John McMillen, sister Ellen Phillips, son Sherman Butler, and her great love, Lacey Butler Jr.  Mary went to be with Lacey in heaven on April 3, 2022.

Memorials may be made in her honor to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Enid Public School Foundation.

Condolences and special memories may be shared with the family online at WWW.Brown-Cummings.com .