Betty Butler Obituary, Death – Betty Butler of Shoals, Indiana, died at home, surrounded by family and friends, peacefully. On October 21, she was born in Marion County, Indiana, as the only child of the late Oscar O. Abel and Edith Tippett Abel. On December 24, 1949, she married Walter Leland Butler, the son of Joel and Ethel Butler, who died on November 21, 2011. They were without children. Betty’s family moved to Martin County from Indianapolis in 1937, and she attended Bateman and Quinn schools. She graduated from Shoals High School in 1948 with the class of 1948. She moved to Indianapolis after graduation and worked for Indianapolis Life Insurance Company for a summer before moving to Chicago to work for Walter.
In 1951, they purchased a farm in Lost River and relocated there. Betty loved to tell stories about her dairy cows and farm life. Betty and Walter decided to sell their farm and move to Shoals as they grew older. Betty previously worked at Loogootee’s Reliance Manufacturing Company, Uni Royal, and Shoals Community Schools. She was a member of the Shoals United Methodist Church, Rusk Homemakers, Martin County Humane Society, Martin County Historical Society, and Shoals Senior Citizens. She was a genealogy enthusiast who enjoyed attending family reunions, high school reunions, and Walter’s Navy reunions. Betty was also a founder and contributor to the Waggoner’s Chapel Cemetery Association, where she served as treasurer for many years.
Nephews David (Dianne) Butler, Alan (Kathy) Butler, and John Butler survive, as do nieces Carolyn (Bruce) Colbert and Mary (Bob) Doane; cousins Terry (Yvonne) Carter, Donald W. Hedge, Nikki Hedge, Tom Abel, Tim Abel, Rick (Barbara) Hedge, Jill (Steve) Bowles; caregiver Diane Lengacher; and special friends Marianne and Don Burgan. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sisters-in-law Bernice (Zan) Jones and Mable Butler, brother-in-law Lloyd (Irene) Butler, Aunt Myrtle Hedge, cousins Ronald Macy and Juanita Macy, and other Indianapolis relatives, as well as her beloved dog Susie.