Sarah Jane Butler

We gather here to celebrate the life of Sarah Jane Butler and to remind ourselves of the blessing she has been in our lives. Sarah has lived an extraordinary life that has been filled with many exciting adventures as well as many obstacles and challenges. Sarah's life is marked by a few things: her love for her family and friends, her love for the field of nursing, her love of travel and her faith in God as her Savior. Sarah Jane received her nursing degree after studying and serving at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, which suited her well, as she was a NC State fan. This accomplishment started a career that would move her to many exciting parts of the country such as Rhode Island, Miami, New York, Washington and possibly her very favorite, Hawaii. Even as Sarah Jane was a girl from the small Southern area of Wilmington, she still found her way very comfortably in these larger areas. While in Washington D.C, Sarah was a part of the trauma task force that served to care for White House Press Secretary James Brady after he and President Ronald Reagan were shot. She said that it did not dawn on her until after the job at hand was done, what had just taken place in front of her. Also, in 1994 she traveled to Iran on a medical mission effort with a team from New Hanover Regional Medical Center to do orthopedic procedures on civilians after Dessert Storm. The reward she felt from this trip, and the accomplishment of it, was always with Sarah. While at New Hanover Regional, she was a member of AORN and served in many capacities in this organization, which she was honored to be a part. Sarah Jane was still very close to her family, and as she continued to move forward in life and career, she did eventually find herself drawn back to her family home in Leland. She helped to care for her aging mother and found her place in this close-knit community. Sarah Jane was a member of Goshen Baptist church, which she loved and served on the Women on Missions committee as Treasurer. She was especially delighted to be in this position, as this was the same position once held by her mother, Addie Mae Butler. Sarah Jane's loss of her only sister, Berta Alice Shooter was certainly one of the challenges she faced. They were very close sisters and enjoyed their times together as children growing up, as well as adults that traveled each season to cheer for the Braves in Atlanta or to shop for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving! They shared a joy of travel together and made many special memories doing just that. Sarah Jane was fortunate to have her 'Big Brother' as she often referred to Ira, rather than using his name. They too were able to continue the joy of travel and made many trips to Southport, Morehead, Florida and other areas to maintain those close family bonds that their whole family had so enjoyed. The relationships and bonds among cousins and friends and coworkers were always strong in Sarah. Many stories were told of the family reunion times at Long Beach and large family gatherings at Thanksgiving! Sarah continued developing relationships throughout the progression of her illness. She was very happy with the wonderful care givers that showed her attention and love and allowed her to continue to 'help' in her own nursing way, even though she was affected by Alzheimers. The nurse in her seemed to always appear and it was probably every hospital stay, or new attendant to ask that same question, … ""Has Sarah ever been a nurse? She seems to be doing … "" , and they would end it with whatever effort she had been making. Finally, there are so many people that were so important to Sarah Jane. She treasured annual trips with her close friends, the church family from Goshen and that community, the cousins that traveled in for those July family reunions or live just down the road in Southport and Morehead. The nieces and nephews, and the grand nieces and nephews were a joy. These things that were in her heart even after her disease had progressed, for sure kept Sarah Jane filled with joy. Her faith in God never left. We know that Sarah Jane is rejoicing in Heaven with a new body and singing with great excitement and for that we thank the Lord and can rejoice too! With Sincere Love and Appreciation, The family of Sarah Jane Butler