Mrs. Carrie Mae Butler

A Tribute to Our Mother – Words of Reflection: Our mom Carrie Mae Butler, affectionately known as “Camay aka Harrie Carrie” to family and friends and “Granny” to her grandchildren was born on October 25, 1931 in Birmingham AL. She was the second youngest of 10 children born to the union of Luther Young and Carrie Askew Young. Mom graduated from Parker Industrial High School and as a graduation gift, she visited her sister Melinda Dudley in Detroit, MI. While spending time in Detroit with her sister and family. Mom met our Dad, James L. Butler who lived on the same street. As fate would have it James and Carrie were united in marriage on November 24, 1950 and to their union six children were born. In addition to raising their children; James and Carrie always opened their hearts and their home to nieces and nephews who needed a home be it temporary or long term. We consider ourselves blessed to have such a wonderful mom. All who entered considered our home as their home away from home and they became our extended family. Momma was so comical when she spoke without even trying. She loved to cook, watch TV and she absolutely loved to listen to Martha Jean the Queen on the radio Monday thru Friday. If she couldn’t make it to church, on Sunday mornings she would watch Bobby Jones. It was not uncommon for her to share food from the family garden and plan family cookouts with her brothers, sisters and their families. She even coined the famous Butler Family phrase “James Can Do It.” She believed that all her kids could do their part to keep the house in order, the start of instilling a good work ethic. This was evident in some of her famous sayings “Work first, then play” during our Saturday morning cleanup. When teaching us how to cook her favorite dishes “Don’t be stingy with the ingredients.” “Whatever you do in life, be the best at it” when helping with homework. When disagreements between our siblings “Think first before you speak – words are something you can’t take back once they’re said” and she will always end every comment with “Always put God first, then everything else will fall into place.” It’s no secret that our mom was a very loving, nurturing and devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend. She was committed to caring for her family and didn’t hesitate one moment to babysit her grandkids, nieces and nephews or her friends' children and grandchildren. Our mother was often described by others as one who truly cared about the mind, body and spirit of child. One thing is for sure, when you were in her presence you knew you were loved: you would eat good food, learn something you didn’t know before and you were expected to treat others with love and respect. Not only did she care for what seemed like every child in the neighborhood including her own, she taught us all the basics, which more than prepared us for grade school. Then she kept up with all the kids that stopped by to visit, teaching many life lessons while watching them grow into adulthood. It was something about Carrie’s way; something about her nurturing spirit, something about a mother’s love that made us all want to go and sit on that couch with her or call her on the phone to hear what knowledge she had to share. Whether her lessons came in the form of a gentle comment or if she saw the need to give it to us “straight-no chaser” she knew just how to deliver the message at any given moment that made us think, so we could draw our own conclusion. On Monday evening, July 17, 2017, Mom’s long journey with dementia ended and she received her wings to heaven.

Mrs. Carrie Mae Butler

October 25, 1931 - July 17, 2017