Ritajean was born to Dr. Frank H. and Adeline (Mimi) Hartung in Seattle and grew up in Olympia, Washington. She attended Dominican College in California and University of Washington where she studied radio broadcasting and was a member of the Gamma Phi sorority. As a camp counselor at Henderson's Summer Camp on Lopez Island she met Fred R. Butterworth, a fellow counselor, whom she married in 1952. They had five sons, Fredde, Dan, Jeff, Tom, and Michael. While she was raising the family she worked on political campaigns, including those of Dan Evans, Slade Gorton, Joel Pritchard, Bruce Chapman, John Spellman, Chris Bailey, George Scott, Lud Kramer, and Mary Ellen McCaffrey. She was Washington State Director for U. S. Senator Slade Gorton. She was appointed to serve as a Trustee of Western Washington University and served as Chairman of the Board. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of National Public Radio and later to the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and served as Chairman of both. She also was a board member of the local NPR station, KUOW and was active with Children's Orthopedic Hospital and Child Ryther Center in Seattle.
She was an avid player of dice and cards, a meticulous genealogist, a passionate reader, a virtuoso contrarian, an ardent crossword puzzler, and a perpetual creative who especially loved to paint and sew. She loved exploring Whidbey Island, and her family has fond memories of her collecting tiny shells from the sands of Mutiny Bay and shaping them into tables, paintings, and bottles.
She is much loved and will be sorely missed. She is survived by her husband Fred, her sons Fredde (Linda), Dan, Tom (Jeanne Marie), and Michael (Scott), six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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