Waitsburg’s “Darling” Celebrates 90 Years

WAITSBURG - If there's one gal in Waitsburg every­body knows and loves, it's Jane Butler.

Though she isn't a Waits­burg native, she has become as much a part of this com­munity as any member of its original pioneer families. "I know everybody who knows her just loves her," said longtime friend B.A. Keve. "She's just a darling, and she continues to amaze me. I don't think there's anything she can't do and do well. So many people appre­ciate her." Next weekend Butler's friends and family will have the opportunity to show their appreciation and love at her 90th birthday celebration, on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 1-3 p.m. in Ye Old Towne Hall. "Everyone will want to come," Keve said. "She had a terrific 80th birthday, so know this will be a dandy. She's earned it and she de­serves it."

Butler's birth date isn't re­ally until December, but she will celebrate the event this fall to accommodate all who will travel to attend.

"December isn't a good time to travel, and it's so close to Christmas," Butler said, yet another example of how she cares for others, ac­cording to her friends.

Butler was born in Cash­mere, Wash., on Dec. 17, 1920. Her family relocated while she was still young to the old Kettle Falls, which is now under Lake Roosevelt, and then to Kennewick in 1933. In 1938 Butler gradu­ated

from Kennewick High School at the age of 17.

"This was the old Kenne­wick High School," she said. "Back when the town was about the size of Dayton." Right out of high school, Butler started working as a "steno," or stenographer, for the Washington State Depart­ment of Agriculture. She typed hundreds of certificatesgrading railroad-car loads of apples each day. In the mid-1940s, Butler was living in Walla Walla. There she had a roommate, Barbara Payne, who was from Waitsburg. Payne in­troduced

her roommate to "Bob," a friend from back home. Jane was married to Robert Butler, who was just a year older than her, not long after in Walla Walla, and the two were wed for nearly 50 years.

Robert Butler was sta­tioned in Bakersfield, Calif., where he was active in World War II under the Armed Air Force. The Butlers lived on the base until the war ended, then came back to Waitsburg.

The Butler family has a long history in Waitsburg. Robert Butler's grandfather was a pioneer doctor here, and his father was a banker.

For 17 years the Butlers lived in Waitsburg while Bob worked at the First Na­tional Bank of Waitsburg. In 1962, the Butlers moved to Dayton when Bob was made president of the National Bank of Commerce. In their later years, the Butlers moved to Yakima. Robert had retired from the bank, and Jane got a job there working for the state. Alto­gether

in her lifetime, Butler has worked 21 years, under seven different governors, for the state of Washington.

In 1989, the couple re­turned to Waitsburg to stay. "After we had both retired for sure," she said.

Jane and Robert Butler had three children between 1946 and 1953, two sons and a daughter. Butler now has six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Robert Butler passed away 15 years ago, in 1995.

Now Butler's life is dedi­cated to her offspring and the Touchet Valley community.

"I think the good Lord has a purpose for me," she said. "I am in good health, and I am of course lucky. I believe it's all for the purpose of car­ing for other people." Butler plays the piano weekly for patients at the Booker Rest Home Annex in Dayton.

"I can't stay away," she said. "It's a moving experi­ence when I hear the Al­zheimer's ladies singing along to the music from the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s I play." She can also be found playing nostalgia tunes in the Village Shoppes, in down­town Dayton. Butler has used music many times over the years to reach out to people and be part of the community. Another longtime Waitsburg pal, Barb Knopp, met Butler close to 15 years ago. They were sitting next to each other on the Presbyterian Church choir when Knopp invited Butler, then 77, to come sing at the Blue Moun­tain Chorus of Sweet Ade­lines International in Walla Walla.

"She had a nice, deep voice," Knopp said. "And she was faithful on the risers every Monday night for three hours, staying with it until she retired at 84. Boy what a gal she is."

Knopp marveled at But­ler's dedication to the com­munity over the years.

She's a 60-year plus mem­ber of the Waitsburg Chapter of the P.E.O., a world-wide women's group focused on education for women. For many years, when her son and daughter-in-law owned the Weinhard Hotel in Dayton, Butler furnished hotel with freshly flowers on weekly basis, Knopp said. And she currently attends the Episcopal Church in Dayton. She also writes a column on occasion for The Times. "She has a very kind and giving heart, loves people and is loyal to her friends," Knopp said. Waitsburger B.A. Keve can also attest to this. Since the early 1990s, she and Butler have been walking every morning in the gym at Preston Hall. They walk from 7-7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. "It's just great because both of us admit that we wouldn't let the other one down for the world unless we were sick," Keve said. "She's just one of those friends who's there before you even know you need her." Waitsburg resident Laura Jean Hevel has known Butler for more than 60 years. They have children about the same age. When the Butlers moved back to town in the late 1980s, the two renewed their close association right away.

"She's a very loyal, friend­ly kind of person, and she makes a lot of contributions," Hevel said. "She's very com­munity minded."

Butler's father was a nurs­eryman, and she learned early about gardening, Hevel said. "Another way she's very generous is that she plants the flowers for the post officeev­ery year," she said. "And she helps plant things and move things around at the (Waits­burg) Presbyterian Church, where she was a member for a long time." Hevel summed up the general feeling of all in town when she described her long­time friend as sociable, gen­erous and loving.

"A sweetheart," she said.