Iva Lou Butler

Iva Lou Butler, born on July 6, 1954 and a longtime resident of Chula Vista California, passed away peacefully, yet unexpectedly, at her home on Sunday, August 31, 2025. She was preceded in death by her parents Samuel Harvey and Wanda Vernell Butler. She is survived by her Aunt, Shirley Loewen; her cousins, Denise Johnson and husband Jimmy; Dennis Madden and wife Jennifer; and their children and grandchildren, Tanya, Austin, Willem, Olive, Taylor, Sam, Sammy, Sylvie, all who lovingly called her Aunt Iva; her very close friend Carol Thomas and her family, who Iva thought of as her second family. Additionally, many dear friends and extended family members.

In her youth, she developed a strong work ethic working several part-time jobs. Iva graduated from Bonita Vista High School and went to Southwestern Community College before transferring to San Diego State University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. In her professional career as an Accountant with the Sweetwater Union High School District, she completed her Master’s Degree from San Diego State University in Accounting while also working full time. She enjoyed her work and retired after 35 years of service.

Iva was an active member of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls for over 50 years, where she held many Offices and served as mentor to many young women throughout the years. She enjoyed an active membership in the San Diego Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution where she served on the Executive Board as well as Chaired many projects on the Lineage Committee. She had a strong interest in heritage through DNA and genealogy, researching and identifying all branches of her lineage. She was a member of Pixels to Pages and an avid scrapbook master, traveling to workshops for both traditional and digital crafting. She recently began crafting personalized greeting cards, which are now treasured items. But with all her many achievements, Iva enjoyed traveling the most. Her goal to visit all 50 States, which she initially started with her mother, had almost been accomplished, only missing it by two. She was also a world traveler with her last trip being to Italy this past May. She created many scrapbooks celebrating and documenting her family, her civic organizations, and her travels to leave a legacy trail of the reflections of her life.

In addition to her personal pursuits, Iva was quite a sports fan. She was a lifelong Charger fan and season ticket holder, until they betrayed her loyalty and moved to Los Angeles, although she begrudgingly continued to loosely follow them. She attended San Diego Padres games, followed the US Figure Skating Team, and SDSU Men’s Basketball.

Iva was a member of the La Mesa First United Methodist Church and always trusted in the Lord’s plan for her. She shared her gifts in life and never met a stranger. She will be dearly missed and leaves each of us with many special memories.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests you make a donation, in Iva’s name, to a charity of your choice.