Mary Louise Butery, of St. Charles, MO, formerly of Rolla, MO, passed away Sunday, May 1, 2022 at the age of 92.
Mary was born on February 10, 1930 in Crittenden County, KY to the late Carrol Millikan and Iva May (Jones) Millikan. She lived on a farm with her Mom, Dad, five sisters, and three brothers. Her dad worked in the coal mines. She had so much love for her family and was proud of them and spoke lovingly about everyone all the time. She loved animals and had her own horse.
At age 18, she left Kentucky and moved to St. Louis to get work. She used to send some of her money back home to help her family. Mary was a very loving and caring person who was very loved by anyone who knew her. She would give her last dollar to a total stranger if they needed it.
Mary was an excellent cook and loved to cook and feed people. The first thing she would say when people came to visit was, "Let me fix you something to eat". She loved kids and having people come to visit.
Mary met Roy Butery in St. Louis. They got married in June 1952, and had a son they named Ricky in 1954.
Roy and Mary lived in St. Louis for 38 years. Mary worked hard at Sefton's Can Company in Maplewood, Missouri for 30 years. She retired in 1988 and she and Roy moved to Rolla, MO, enjoying life in the country there for 15 years. Roy passed away in 2003 and Mary continued to live there another 12 years by herself.
Mary started getting dementia around 2009. As the dementia progressed to Alzheimer's, she could no longer live by herself and moved in with her son and daughter-in-law in St. Charles, Missouri in 2015. On January 21, 2022, she needed additional care and moved into a nursing home. On May 1, 2022, Mary passed away from the disease.
A few months before she passed away, she said she had lived a good long life and was happy, and had no regrets about anything. Mary was very loved and will forever be missed.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was also preceded in death by three brothers, Ed Millikan, A.J. Millikan and Orlen Millikan; and four sisters, Ina King, Sally Tabor, Lee Winingar and Ann Ike.
Mary will be greatly missed by her surviving family which includes: one son, Richard Butery and wife, Vicki of St. Charles, MO; one sister, Clara Bell Green of Green Bay, WI; two grandchildren, Cody Butery and Sabrina Johnson and husband, David; and one great granddaughter, Marlee Johnson.
A funeral service for Mary L. Butery will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at the Null and Son Funeral Home in Rolla. Interment will follow in the Pilot Knob Cemetery. A visitation for family and friends will be held prior to the service beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Alzheimer's Association.