MaryAlice Butler

There will never be another like Pastor MaryAlice Butler. A tiny little 5’2” woman with an infectious smile who was known as a Faith-walking, Bible-toting, hand-laying on Christian and a bona fide Prayer Warrior. If you happened to dial her number, you’d hear the most cheerful “Praise the Lord” even before caller-ID was a thing. It’s impossible to recount the number of times she’d say “For God I live, and for God I’ll die…and all the rest is in between mess” and who’s license plate read JAM117:

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

On Sunday August 16, 1942…a rather typical warm summer day, with a high of 85 and a low of 72, Reverend Butler was born to Annie Mae (Session) Butler and Clarence Butler on 3rd Avenue in Daytona Beach, FL. She was a devoted wife, mother, friend, confidant, spiritual leader, and representation of excellence. At the age of 82, on February 12, 2025, which was an unseasonably warm Florida winter day (high of 85), Reverend Butler passed away peacefully, at home, surrounded by her loving family.

On Saturday April 7, 2018, Reverend Butler was ordained at First Calvary Baptist Church in Glen Allen, VA. She was a gift to her family, a gift to her community, and a gift to the world. Her life’s focus was on teaching the unfathomable Word of God while encouraging all around her to make a daily, quality, decision to serve the one true God. Her passing was an unshakeable testimony to the realness of God, an unquestionable illustration of the significance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and an unwavering representation of the irrefutable existence of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

There is no shortage of people across various states that will attest to her authenticity, eloquence, and candor as well as her grace, style, fashion, poise, and elegance. Let the record show that Reverend Butler traversed effortlessly in 4inch stilettos before anyone in Daytona knew what stilettos were and continued to strut across the pulpit preaching in high-heeled excellence for over 40 years.

Reverend Butler was preceded in death by her parents, three siblings, and husband and is survived by countless people who love and cherish her, including but not limited to: her five children (“the girls”), Patricia Edwards, Grace Harris, Melody Jackson, Nicole Brown, and April Johnson, eleven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and a multitude of family and friends. RL Gainous Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements to honor her and celebrate a life well lived.

Celebration of Life service for Pastor MaryAlice Butler will be Monday, February 24, 2025, 12:00 pm at Allen Chapel AME Church, 580 George W. Engram Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL, followed by burial at Volusia Memorial Cemetery located at 548 North Nova Road, Ormond Beach, FL. The viewing will be Sunday, February 23, 2025, at R.J. Gainous Funeral Home from 4 until 6 pm.