Nancy Lee Butterfield

Born in Wadestown, WV, September 17, 1930, Nancy was the first child of Patrick Bhurman and Hellen Lumma (Hibbs) Ervin. She grew up on the family farm in Harrison County, WV, graduating salutatorian of her class at Clarksburg’s Victory High School in 1947. She attended Fairmont State College for two years before her mother’s illness required her to care for her five young sisters.

Nancy moved to Washington, DC in 1949, seeking a summer job, and remained in the city thirteen years, employed in the records branch of the FBI.

At George Washington University night classes, Nancy met Charles Butterfield, an Air Force officer from New Hampshire. The couple married in Washington on August 10, 1957.

Nancy and Charles moved to Hinsdale, NH in 1962 and lived on Oxbow Road for 57 years before becoming residents of Covenant Living of Keene in 2019.

Nancy, a diligent and efficient manager, was employed by several institutions in the Brattleboro, VT area, beginning with the Experiment in International Living (EIL) where she held secretarial positions, including assistant to the founder, Donald Watt.

After Nancy earned her B.Ed. degree from Keene State College in 1971, she taught English briefly at Hinsdale High School before becoming a teacher of English as a second language at the School for International Training (SIT). There she held a number of supervisory and instructional posts, among them supervising and instructing bilingual secretaries from abroad who sought employment with the US companies. Nancy formed some lasting friendships among this unique group of women.

Nancy left SIT to become office manager at the Brattleboro Music Center where her primary duties were concert management and staff supervision. At BMC, Nancy formed a warm working relationship with the late Blanche Honegger Moyse, BMC founder and conductor of the Blanche Moyse Choral.

Nancy attended Simmons College Graduate School in Boston, earning a master’s degree in library and information science in 1984. She then joined the staff at the Mason Library at Keene State College. In addition to working as a reference librarian, Nancy taught classes in research methods. She was made assistant professor in 1987 and was granted tenure in 1990. She retired in 1997 from her post as head of technical services at the Mason Library.

Nancy served her town of Hinsdale as a member of the solid waste committee, and for twenty-five years she was clerk of the Hinsdale School District. She was an active member of the Hinsdale Historical Society.

An ambitious gardener, Nancy also enjoyed working in the pine forest at her home. An accomplished baker and skilled decorator and seamstress, Nancy was seldom idle. In retirement, she devoted several years to family history research, tracing her own and her husband’s lineages. She traveled to several US cities and colleges in connection with her varied career, and visited Greece twice, once as secretary to the president of the Experiment in International Living and once accompanying two dozen high school students. She enjoyed private trips to Scotland, Wales, England, and most recently, Ireland.

Nancy was an active member of All Souls Church UU in Brattleboro, VT. She was well known there for her decorated wreaths featured in the church’s holiday bazaar.

She is survived by her husband, Charles of Keene; sisters, Sandra Rodriquez of San Gabriel, CA, Barbara Materazzi (Maury) of Warrenton, VA, Erra Jane Purdy of Blacksburg, VA, Mary Murphy of Belmont, WV; and a nephew, nieces and cousins. Her parents, and a sister, Patty Warters, predeceased her.

Following internment at the Maplewood Cemetery, Antrim, NH, a celebration of Nancy’s life will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 3:00pm in the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 29 South Street, West Brattleboro, Vermont.