Marcia Pollish Butler passed away peacefully with her family at her bedside on the morning of March 16th, 2019. Marcia was born on April 10, 1951, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Bemidji, MN where she lived throughout her high school and college years. In 1972, Marcia graduated from Bemidji State University with a double major in English and German. She later returned to school to finish her master’s degree in ELL (English Language Learners) at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Additionally, she became a certified literacy coach.
Marcia was a born educator and knew from a very early age that she had an innate passion to teach. Her early teaching years included positions at
Sanborn, Pine City and Winona, Minnesota. She met her first husband, David Pera, in Pine City and they had two daughters, Jennifer Lee and Rebecca Ann. The family moved to the Marshall Islands where Marcia taught for several years. They then returned to the States and lived in Sparta, Wisconsin until Jennifer and Rebecca graduated from high school. Marcia then took her teaching talents abroad educating children in the Ivory Coast of Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Mexico.
Marcia ended her teaching journey in Monterrey, Mexico and retired in San Antonio, TX where she met her current husband Alvin Butler. They married in San Antonio, moved first to Virginia and then to Bangkok, Thailand, where Alvin worked and where Marcia continued to live out her retirement by sharing her love for literature, learning, and life with everyone she met. Marcia and Alvin moved back to San Antonio as Marcia’s health began to decline so that she could spend her last months on earth with her family whom she loved dearly.
Marcia will be remembered by all for her devotion to her family, her love of literacy, and her passion for holistic health. Music, arts and dance were always important in her life as well. She played the piano and oboe, was a hockey cheerleader in high school, and enjoyed dancing and listening to music of diverse genres. She is leaving behind not only family, but also numerous friends all over the world with whom she has kept in contact up until the day of her passing.
Marcia was preceded in death by her parents, Almeda and Melvin Pollish, her nephew Matthew Schultz, and her great niece, Carina Molly Keller. She is survived by spouse, Alvin Butler, daughters, Jennifer Lee Pera and Rebecca Ann Pera Cole (Zachary), grandson John Henry “Hank” Pera Cole, three sisters Janet Pollish Forsberg (Douglas), Terrilyn Schultz Ulmer (Michael) and Karen Ahles (Richard) as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.
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