Marguerite Evans Butler

Marguerite Evans Butler 12-14-1921 - 1-2-2016 St Petersburg, Fl- Marguerite Evans Butler passed away on January 2, 2015 at Bayfront Medical Center due to respiratory failure, and complications of a recent illness. She died peacefully, with her son Charles holding her hand at bedside. She was married to her husband Raymond Butler for 70 years, and survived his passing by one year and eight months. She loved living in her home, eating out, attending DAR meetings, and being cared for by her son Charles. Marguerite was the mother of two sons, Charles and Rodney Butler, and two grandchildren, Robert and Laura of St. Augustine, and three great grandchildren. Funeral Services will be in the Calvary Cemetery Chapel, 5233 118th Ave North, Clearwater, FL 33760. Arrangements are through E. Dale Gunter Funeral Home, 4100 16th Street North St. Petersburg, Fl 33703 (727)526-2880. She will be interred beside her husband. Marguerite was a member of the Caravel Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, and received the "Woman in American History" certificate in October for her contributions to the war effort during World War II. Marguerite was always interested in her family history, and was proud of her patriotic lineage. "Being a member of the DAR is the highest patriotic honor any American woman can achieve," she often said. "I would strongly encourage other deaf and hearing impaired women of any age to consider joining the DAR. There is something for every patriotic woman in the DAR." she added. Although she has several patriot lines, her membership patriot is through her mother's line, Johann David Nida. Marguerite lost her hearing when she was 3 years old due to a severe, nearly fatal case of scarlet fever. When she fell ill, the sky was a wintery grey, the frozen ground was dark and lifeless, and the trees outside her window were barren. When she awoke in the spring, the trees and flowers were in full, bloom, the sky was bright blue, and scent of freshly cut grass drifted in through her open window. She remembers nothing during her sickness, not even eating or drinking water. She recalls slowly becoming aware of her surroundings, watching her mother's lips move but hearing no sound. The eventual diagnosis was prolonged high fever had destroyed her auditory nerves. Fortunately, her intelligence was unaffected and she was able to complete her education, marry and have two sons, and enjoy a successful career in Deaf Education, teaching English, Literature, and Reading. A naturally gifted lip reader, she excelled academically and after WW II, began her professional education career at the Kendall School primary department, at Gallaudet College (now University) in Washington, D.C., specializing in the field of deaf and hearing impaired education. In the autumn of 1949, Marguerite and her husband Raymond moved from Washington to Austin, Texas where he became Head Football Coach and Athletic Director for the Texas School for the Deaf. Shortly after the birth of her first son, she resumed her career teaching high school English and Reading, also at the Texas School for the Deaf. In 1962, the Butler family relocated to Morganton, North Carolina where she taught advanced senior high classes for six years. In the spring of 1968, Mr. and Mrs. Butler moved to St. Augustine where she completed her teaching career at the Florida School for the Deaf, retiring in 1984. In 2002 Marguerite and Raymond, sold their 100 year old historic home in St. Augustine and moved to St. Petersburg to be closer to their son Charles, President of the St. Petersburg Chapter Sons of the American Revolution, and grandson Robert, a software developer. Marguerite considers her DAR membership to be especially poignant because of her wartime experience as a true "Rosie the Riveter" working for Goodyear aircraft in Ohio where her deafness "handicap" became a valuable asset for the American war effort. Even though she had spent virtually her entire life in an academic environment and had never even seen a power tool, when wartime duty called, she packed away Shelly, Byron and Keats and patriotically responded by joining the civilian workforce in a defense plant. She learned how to skillfully buck and rivet, and throughout the war worked long and exhausting hours building wing assemblies for the troop transport aircraft that eventually carried paratroopers on D Day. Having the enthusiasm of youth and the diminutive physique of a gymnast, about 5'1" and 100 pounds, Marguerite navigated with alacrity through awkward positions inside and around aircraft wings as they were assembled. Her agility and attention to detail enabled her to wield a high compression air powered rivet hammer and hose, undisturbed and undistracted by her ear-splitting surroundings. Her waist length chestnut brown hair was tightly wrapped inside a kerchief and put up every morning before stepping onto the plant floor. "We had all heard the story about a female worker somewhere who was scalped when her long hair became entangled in a machine; we didn't want to take any chances. It was always safety first. We couldn't help our troops if we were injured by our own carelessness," she said. One day a visiting dignitary passed through her section of the plant on a tour. Covering his ears and wincing in pain at the overwhelming cacophony of factory racket, he looked at her and shouted "Young lady, how can you stand all this noise?" shaking his head in disbelief. At that moment, Marguerite happened to glance up and being an expert lip reader, she knew exactly what he had said. "What noise?" she replied with a polite smile. With that, she busily resumed her "woman's work" of driving high strength aluminum aircraft rivets with a screaming air hammer, completely unflustered. "The productivity of deaf workers always exceeded our hearing counterparts," she said, "we were proud of that. Anything we could do to shorten the war, we did without complaining. We didn't make much money, and the work was grueling, usually six days a week. But we loved our country and we all wanted to do our patriotic duty to defeat the Nazis."