JEANNE L. BUTLER March 27, 1941 – June 19, 2024
It is with a heavy heart that our family announces the passing of Jeanne on June 19, 2024. She passed away peacefully after a visit with her daughter and grandchildren.
Born on an Iowa farm, a 4-H member most of her life, driven to helping others, and someone who loved to tend to her gardens and fruit trees – Jeanne was a mid-westerner through and through.
Jeanne grew up in Franklin County, Iowa, attending school in the nearby town of Hampton. Her early goal was medical missionary work, helping others through nursing. She attended Yankton College in Yankton, S.D, for two years, then Northwest Institute of Medical Laboratory Technique in Minneapolis, Minn.
Summer ecumenical work camp experience with Sioux Indians left her with a desire to work in an Indian hospital. Following graduation, she was hired as a laboratory and x-ray tech at PHS Indian Hospital in Wagner, S.D. Two years later, she moved to St. Olaf’s Hospital in Austin, Minn – an experience that prompted a career change decision. She saw how doctors treated nurses versus med techs and decided not to pursue nursing.
In 1965, Jeanne joined the Peace Corps. She thought her medical training would be the skill utilized, but medical work meant city living and she preferred a rural area. She became a 4-H Club organizer in Sarawak, Malaysia, working with two distinct groups – the Ibans and the Malays. Jeanne taught sewing, cooking, and was provided with baby chicks for poultry projects.
In 1968, Jeanne joined the Poudre Valley Hospital in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and in 1971, she completed her bachelor’s degree in microbiology at Colorado State University. She remained at Poudre Valley as a microbiologist until 1974. One Christmas, a friend from church invited Jeanne to dinner, where she met the woman’s nephew, Gilbert Butler, on a break from post doc work at Argonne Labs. Jeanne and Gilbert learned they had similar interests, but it was another three years before they met again.
Jeanne moved to Tucson, Arizona and joined St. Mary’s Hospital. By then, Gilbert was a nuclear chemist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and for a while, they pursued a long-distance relationship. Gil encouraged her to “check into Los Alamos”. She found a job with the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Albuquerque and following training, moved to Los Alamos in 1977 to work in the Pion Treatment program at LANL. She and Gil were married the following year.
Gardening was a passion for Jeanne and in 1981, she retired to garden, harvest, can, preserve and outwit hungry wildlife, as well as volunteer as a 4-H leader. In addition, she and Gil soon became foster parents and over the next four years they fostered three girls and a boy. Karen, Melanie, Kimber, and Jacob. In 1985, they adopted their daughter Tamryn and their son Randall, in 1988.
In 1986, Jeanne became involved in the United Church Thrift Shop. She served as co-chair for more than 20 years and volunteered monthly to sort donations. She would recruit church participants for Church World Service’s annual Crop Walk as well as help with the event itself. Every summer Jeanne would enter baked or canned items in the Los Alamos County Fair and would even be a judge for knitting/crochet entries.
When Tamryn entered a junior high contest to get parents involved in local organizations, Jeanne joined the board of Homeless Services of Los Alamos (now LA Cares) to volunteer with the food bank. She served as the co-coordinator of the monthly distribution for several years, and she volunteered every month up until her body no longer let her in 2018.
Jeanne was proceeded in death by her parents, Margaret and Ruben Burmester, and her husband, Gilbert Butler.
Jeanne is survived by her sister Diana Holden of Cody, WY, brother David Burmester (Vicki) of Hampton, IA, daughter Tamryn Clancy (Trey) of Los Alamos, NM, son Randal Butler (Pei Chin) of Australia, grandchildren Jayson and Logan Jones of Los Alamos, NM, soon to arrive twin grandchildren of Australia; many nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law, Joan Thye (bob) of Bend, OR, and Linda Moorse (Frank) of Albany, OR.
A service will be held at The United Church of Los Alamos in November as we are waiting for the birth of Jeanne’s twin grandbabies.