Betty JoAnn (Gire) Butler

Betty JoAnn (Gire) Butler, 74, of Nevada, passed away on Friday, May 1, 2009, at Moore-Few Care Center in Nevada following a lengthy illness. She was born July 9, 1934, in Pittsburg, Kan., to Ernest L. Gire and Dorothy M. Patton Gire. She married Kenneth Nelson Butler on Oct. 21, 1951, in Wheatland, Mo., and he preceded her in death on May 6, 2008.

Betty was a dedicated and proud LPN for many years. She was a member of NAPNES and MoSALPN serving in several offices including president. She had many accomplishments in her career including an appointment by the Governor of Missouri to the state board of nursing and being the first ever "Employee of the Month" at Nevada City Hospital. Betty and her husband Kenny owned and operated B & K Pizza Place in downtown Nevada for several years.

Betty attended the First Christian Church in Nevada when health would permit. God blessed Betty with a talent for design. She was an Artex paint dealer for many years and created unique jackets for truck drivers across the United States. Betty also ran a cake business out of her home. She created beautiful cakes for several generations of families in Nevada. Betty was also famous for her biscuits and gravy and stromboli.

Betty is survived by three sons, William E. "Sonny" Butler and his wife Kathy, Nevada, Kenneth N. "Junior" Butler, Nevada, and Robert E. Butler and his wife Kim, Birchtree, Mo.; one daughter, Teresa A. Butler, Nevada; five grandchildren, Jennifer Zermeno and her husband Cesar, Nevada, Jay Butler, Springfield, Mo., Heather, Felicia, and Colton Butler, Nevada; four step-grandchildren, Kurt, Nicole, Heather, and Becca, Birchtree, Mo.; two great-grandsons, Brailen Butler and Dominic Zermeno, Nevada; and many nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, seven brothers and sisters.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., on Thursday, May 7, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, with the Rev. Bill Platt officiating. Interment will follow in Moore Cemetery, Nevada. Friends may call now and until the hour of service and the family receives friends 6-7 p.m., on Wednesday evening at the funeral home.

Memorials may be given to the Juvenile Diabetes Association or the First Christian Church c/o Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada.

View obituary and send condolences online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.