Obituary for Iva Jean Butler
MANSFIELD: Matriarch is just a sophisticated name for a loving and dependable Grandma. With strong Southern roots, Jean Butler’s personality was like a well – a deep strong personality, ornery with a sense of humor that kept her family on their toes, and a stubborn streak a mile wide. And like that cavernous well, her love for her family was bottomless. As matriarch, Jean Butler was Queen of Hearts, the hand that rocked the cradle, and the sweetest spirit on earth.
Jean passed away Thursday, August 22, 2024 in OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. She was 84.
Born Iva Jean Stephens February 14, 1940 (Hearts Day) to parents Gus and Jessie Mae (Fugate) Stephens, she came to Ohio at the age of 15. Since 1964 she has lived in Mansfield, and many will remember her from working at Therm-O-Disc, where Jean worked 30 years, retiring in 2005 as a foreman in production.
Jean was a member of AMVETS Post #31, Ontario, and the Pleasant Hill Boat Club. She enjoyed historical romance novels, BINGO, and delighted in her pet dogs – from a Chihuahua, to Cocker Spaniel, to Weimaraner, to Australian Shepherd-Blue Heeler mix – each pawed their way into Jean’s heart.
Remembered for the gifts from her kitchen, Jean delighted in preparing holiday meals complete with cucumber sour cream salad, fried apples, pink pie and burnt biscuits (yeah, burnt biscuits, we’re not all perfect). She will be remembered for her collection of Snow Babies (figurines), how she enjoyed a good argument (even with the television), and her one guilty pleasure: WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).
She is survived by her daughter Penny Whitmeyer of Mansfield; grandchildren Amy (Jeff) Parsons of Nevada, Lisa Gable of Clinton, IA, and Brian (Stacie) Whitmeyer of Reynoldsburg, great grandchildren Ashleigh, MacKenna, Landon, and Lex Parsons, Zackary, Xander, and Aurora Gable, Cordon Winningham, and Josslyn, and Gavin Whitmeyer; brothers Delmer (Joyce) Stephens of Willard and Roy (Jill) Alsept of Ashland; sister-in-law Barbara Stevens in Tennessee; numerous nieces and nephews including Twila Kennedy in Virginia, her lifelong best friend (and partner in crime) Verna Teeters in Nashville, TN, and her canine companion Smokey.
She was preceded in death by her husband Henry “Dean” Butler on May 4, 2017. Also deceased are three brothers Edward “Whitey Stephens, Wally Stephens, and Melvin Stevens; along with her dog Toby, and her dearest (and very expensive – hence the name) canine Banka.
The Butler family will receive guests Tuesday, August 27, 2024 from Noon until 1 p.m. in the Marion Avenue Snyder Funeral Home, where her funeral service will immediately follow at 1 p.m. Pastor Chris Stewart will officiate. Burial will follow in Mansfield Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: https://www.stjude.org/
Snyder Funeral Home is honored to serve the Butler family. Share a message of support – and watch Jean’s tribute video – online at: https://www.snyderfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Iva-Jean-Butler?obId=32874156#/obituaryInfo
Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Home Marion Avenue Chapel