Obituary of Sara Butler

Sara Butler, teacher loved card games Sara Butler loved her card games. The longtime Northern Kentucky schoolteacher played as often as she could, sometimes six, seven times a week. Canasta and bridge were two of her favorites. The Florence resident died Saturday at Harborside Manor Healthcare of Florence. She was 87. "She played in many card clubs, she just loved to be out and about," said her son, John "Chip" Butler of Fairfield, Ohio. She retired from the Kenton County Schools District after a long career, much of it teaching fourth grade at White's Tower Elementary School. She also was the former operator of Butlers' General Store in Independence, and was, by her son's account, a "spotless housekeeper." Mrs. Butler grew up in Independence and graduated from Holmes High School in Covington. While working as a substitute teacher, she caught the teaching bug and went back to college to get her degree. She first attended Transylvania University in Lexington, then transferred to Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, from which she graduated. "She really enjoyed it," Chip Butler said of his mother's teaching career. "She liked being with people." She also was active with the Covington Art Club, though her son said she had no particular artistic talent herself. Mostly, she just appreciated creative people. When her husband, John, died in 1979, she took to traveling more, including to Europe. But her favorite trips, taken often with her sister, Anne, were within the U.S., especially to the West. She loved Phoenix, her son recalled. She also was active in her church, the Church of Christ Nicholson in Independence, now Nicholson Christian Church. "She was a good person," her son said. "And she loved her granddaughters." Other survivors include a daughter, Pamela Butler Marcum of Fort Wright; a brother, Wally Morgan of Dallas; two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren. Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Independence. Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Friday. Burial will be in Independence Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Nicholson Christian Church, 1970 Walton-Nicholson Pike, Independence, Ky. 41051.