Obituary of Muriel Butler

Services will be on June 21, in Santa Cruz for Muriel Butler who passed away at her Aptos home on June 5, 2012. Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was 91 years old. Mrs. Butler was a graduate of Northwestern University, earning her bachelor's degree in liberal arts. She was very talented at both sewing and embroidery; designing her own clothing & draperies and unique shadow box style wall furnishings. Her husband, Bill was an accomplished woodworker, and the couple who celebrated 68 years of marriage, enjoyed complimenting each other's talents throughout their long lives. Bill Butler preceded her in death in 2010. She created beautiful paintings of wildlife and nature landscapes in both oil and watercolors. The artistic images were fond recollections of her time spent in the forests, wilderness, and lakes of the rugged Midwest. Mrs. Butler dedicated a great amount of her time and generosity to her sisterhood, P.E.O. Chapter S.P. (Philanthropic Education Organization) where she served as a past president. She has been a resident of Santa Cruz County for the past 45 years, and leaves many dear friends and care givers at Aegis of Aptos where she had lived for the past 3 years. Mrs. Butler leaves a sister, Barbara June Holloway of Atherton, California, her niece, Nancy, and her nephews, James and Edwin. Muriel will be deeply missed by her dear friends Cathy Adcox, Don and Donna Sorensen, Lil Enos, and Marc Wortz, her friend and volunteer with the Vista Center for the Blind, Crystal Septinelli-Lahr, and her friends and neighbors at Aegis, Richard Price and Jack Cook. Mrs. Butler loved the special visits every Sunday from her friend Donna Steward and her dog "Honey" the rescue Golden Retriever. She was blessed by the comfort extended to her from the wonderful people of Care From the Heart Inc. The memorial gathering will be on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel, beginning at 11:00 a.m. A light lunch reception will follow at the chapel. She will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine, California, beside her beloved husband Bill. Kind acts of charity are preferred to NORCAL Golden Retriever Rescue (405 El Camino Real Suite 420, Menlo Park, CA. 94025) or to Hospice of Santa Cruz County (940 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley CA. 95066) To light a candle for and share your thoughts, please visit www.pacificgardenschapel.com.