Lillian Isabelle Butler

Berne - Lillian Butler, 100, died at Ellis Hospital on October 14, 2009. She was born on Hemlock Street in Brooklyn on June 23, 1909. She graduated from Bay Ridge Girls High School in 1927 and from Hefly's Business School following high school. Lillian was a secretary at the National City Company when she met and married John (Jack) Butler. They were married in White Plains on Sept. 12, 1931. They had two children: Jeannette married to Ralph Miller and John T. married to Sandy. Three grandchildren, Kathleen (Bartholomew) Putzig, Karen (Anthony) DeAngelo and Terence Butler; great-grandchildren Allen, Elias, Mollie, Irene, Nicholas, Rachel, and Bryce as well as her niece, Joan Dorn, who was like a daughter to her. Lillian was a stay-at-home Mom who enjoyed doing things with her children. She went back to work as secretary in the Valley Stream Central High School library and worked there until 1974. Upon the death of her husband she became a resident of Berne, living with Ralph and Jeannette Miller. She spends some of her time with son John in New Jersey. A great advocate of education, when the Town of Berne Library needed more books in order to obtain a library grant, she brought boxes of discarded books from her high school library to Berne. She and husband Jack enjoyed ballroom dancing, musicals and operas. She has traveled on all continents except Antarctica and South America. She was a voracious reader and an avid bridge player. Family and friends are what have been most important to her. A funeral service will be conducted at 3 pm on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Fredendall Funeral Home, Altamont, followed by an interment in Knox Cemetery. Friends may call prior from 12 pm to 3 pm. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in her name to the Friends of the Town of Berne Library, PO Box 42, Berne, NY 12023.