Teresa Maria Butkus

COLUMBIA Teresa Maria Jasnowski Butkus passed away Sunday, July 23, 2023. Born in a Displaced Person’s Camp in Wildflecken, Germany in 1946, she was the daughter of Antoni and Jadwiga Jasnowski who were of Polish descent and had survived a concentration camp (Antoni) and slave labor (Jadwiga) in Germany during the war. Her family, which included her younger brother Kazie at the time, was sponsored through Catholic War Relief Services by a farmer from Aurora, Nebraska in 1949. Teresa attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church where she played the organ and sang for a number of years. She graduated from Aurora High School in 1964 and from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1968. Teresa married Stan Butkus from Peaks Island, Maine in Aurora in 1968. They had a long life together and lived and worked in a number of states. They shared their love of learning new things and travel, while always finding ways to be of service to others.

Teresa attended graduate school in Social Work for one year in Lincoln, Nebraska and then completed her Master’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia in 1989. She was a licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia and South Carolina and had a long and rewarding career in Social Work in various settings until retiring in 2013 from the University of South Carolina, Center for Child and Family Studies. Teresa’s gentle voice and calm demeanor helped many people through difficult times. Some of the highlights of her career were working at the Forensic Unit at New Hampshire State Hospital, Peaks Island Child Development Center, Maine Department of Social Services and as a Mental Health Therapist in Petersburg and Lynchburg, Virginia prior to working for the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina in 1997.

Following retirement, Teresa enjoyed spending summers on Peaks Island, Maine, where her children, grandchildren and friends would visit. She also did volunteer work in Columbia, S.C., her favorite being part of the volunteer gardening crew at Historic Columbia.

She is survived by her spouse, Stan Butkus of Columbia; four siblings, Mary Jasnowski of Otoe, NE, John and Mardell Jasnowski of Aurora, NE, Tony and Jan Jasnowski of Omaha, NE, Kazie and Feli Jasnowski of Englewood, Ohio; numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by three children, Monica Hennessy of Cary, N.C., Mark Butkus of Portland, ME,, Josef and Shelby Butkus of Washington, DC; seven amazing grandchildren, Peter, Chris and Zoey Butkus, Eli and Lars Wankel and Dakota and Beau Butkus.

The family will hold a private event at a future date. Cards will be appreciated and can be sent to the family.

Memorials may be made to the charity of one’s choice.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dunbarfuneralhomedevine.com for the Butkus family.