Bernice T. Butler

She is preceded in death by her husband, Fred Butler; 2 of her sons, Lee Butler and Johnny Butler; 1 grandson, Tony Butler; 1 great grandson, Ronny Butler and 1 great granddaughter, Shelby Butler.

She is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Doris and her husband, Jim; her oldest son, Fred and his wife, Karen; 9 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, 9 great great grandchildren and an endless list of extended family and beloved friends.

There will be no chapel service. Interment will be at Hamilton Memorial Gardens, Hixson, TN.

If you can bear a few minutes, I’d like to take you for a walk down Bernice’s memory lane.

Bernice was born March 5, 1923 in Huntsville Alabama to Gurtha and Robert Tracy. She was the 3rd child born of 14 children; all of which were born at home, and of whom only 7 survived. She was the oldest living girl. Her childhood was spent growing up during the depression era which made life difficult for many to say the least.

There was no electricity in their household, no indoor plumbing, no refrigerator, or electric stove. They used oil lamps, hauled their water, used ice boxes and wood burning stoves for cooking and heating. Both her parents worked 12 hour days, 6 days a week and always church on Sunday. In the summer the children worked in the fields picking cotton, strawberries, peaches that had fallen…whatever they could to make ends meet and bring food into the house. Sometimes their pay was in food such as potatoes or syrup.

She’d walk every day to a one room school house whether it was freezing cold or pouring rain or a nice sunny day. She’d do her homework by the light of an oil burning lamp. One of her earlier memories was at the age of 7, she babysat a little girl named Doris each day after school. She earned $2 a week which she never actually saw. The money was given to her Mother and was spent towards food or sewing materials to make their clothes and bedding.

They had to repair, reuse, make do and not throw anything away. They implemented hand-me-downs, used flour sacks to sew the girls’ dresses, the boys’ shirts, even underwear. They grew their own vegetables as much as possible, raised chickens, gathered eggs, and baked their own bread. They made their own soap from lard, canned everything they could, and washed all their clothes by hand.

Her fondest gift growing up was a mirrored dresser that her Mother bought used for her 12th birthday. It’s still here today. She would get excited at Christmas because she would get one big pretty apple, one orange and one banana and a handmade doll. And even though her Mother baked good bread, Bernice liked store bought bread. The only time they’d get it was if one of the children got sick, then they’d get store bought bread and milk. She said sometimes she’d play sick just to get the store bought bread and milk.

She enjoyed playing games with her friends and siblings like kick the can, walking on stilts, tag, tug of war, hide and go seek, and watermelon seed fights!

Bernice completed the 8th grade before she started working in the textile mill full time in 1937 at the age of 14. She worked 5 nights a week and got paid 3 silver dollars. (Minimum wage wasn’t implemented until 1938).

Later, it was there that she met and fell in love with one of her co-workers. She became Mrs. Fred M. Butler at the age of 19, and over the next 9 years, became the Mother of 4 adorable children, loving them above all else and devoted her life to them.

While raising her family, she was a wonderful cook and could make a delectable meal out of things that you and I might not even think of. Her house was always full of people who loved her. Lifelong friends and family. She always returned that love, in many ways, but always by feeding you something delicious.

With age and progressive arthritis and a harder workload, Bernice retired at the age of 55, having dedicated 41 years of her life to the textile industry. Even after her retirement, she still earned money by sewing homemade quilts and selling them. Then, when Fred retired, she helped him with commercial fishing for extra income.

In 1984, she lost her husband of 42 years to lung cancer. A few years later, she moved from a struggling lifestyle in Tennessee to a comfortable little one bedroom apartment in Arizona near her daughter. During that time she suffered the loss of two of her sons to pulmonary disease and she was the last survivor of all of her siblings. That’s where that legacy of love, laughter, endurance, determination, warm spirit and undying love come in.

Thank you, Bernice, for sharing your life with us. You will be unbelievably missed until we meet again.