Frances W. Butterworth

Passed away January 27, 2020. Born in Concord, N.C. on October 13, 1924, Frances was raised in Morehead City, North Carolina during the Depression Era. After graduating high school in 1941, she attended business school in Thomasville, Georgia, and subsequently worked for the Naval Shipyard in Charleston, SC. Frances was an independent thinker with a “can do” attitude. She purchased her first home at the age of 18 years old and moved her widowed mother and younger sister to live with her in Charleston. It was in Charleston that she met Melvin Leslie “Jerry” Butterworth, the love of her life, to whom she remained devoted for 68 years of marriage. Upon his graduation from Emory University Dental School, they moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to set up a dental practice and raise their family. They lived there for 36 years until retiring to Pensacola, Florida. After Hurricane Ivan destroyed their home, they relocated to Gainesville, Georgia to be closer to their children.

Frances was a member of PEO International and the First Presbyterian Church. Throughout the years, she has devotedly taken care of her family. Her complaints were few and her gratitude abundant. She was a true Southern lady with a feisty attitude, an excellent bridge player, avid reader, thoroughly enjoyed world travel, and loved her family deeply. Her wit and humor kept many laughing (and sometimes got her into trouble), but she is mostly defined by her graciousness and kindness to others and by her beauty, both inside and out. Her devotion to her family rose above everything else, and she will be missed by all.

She is survived by daughter, Dale Cleveland (Tom), son, Mark Butterworth (Jane), grandchildren Drew Cleveland (Lauren), MaryWynne Lumsden (Tyler), Blake Butterworth (Jennifer), Brooke Bloch (Andrew), and great-grandchildren MaryGrace and Rhett Cleveland, Ryan and Greer Lumsden, and William Butterworth.

A memorial service will be held at Roswell Funeral Home on February 1, 2020 at

11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607 or Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.

.