116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Esther Buterbaugh
ESTHER BUTERBAUGH
Dallas Center
Esther L. Buterbaugh died June 3, 2014.
She was born April 23, 1918, to Clay and Violet Holtz Johnson near Crofton, Neb., the second of eight children. After graduating from Crofton High School, she
furthered her education in a normal training program in Ogden, Iowa. She met Galen while teaching in Boone County and they were married March 23, 1940. They started their married life farming on the family farm, north of Waukee. Their three children, Gary, Linda and Deborah were raised here.
In the 1970s, they built a new home in Dallas Center and moved. There they raised beds of beautiful roses and maintained a yard of flowers and a large vegetable garden.
After Galen started losing his sight in 2003, they moved to Cedar Rapids to be near their daughter, Linda, and back to Dallas Center to Spurgeon Manor in 2006, when Galen's health worsened.
Esther was an accomplished artist and expert seamstress and loved working in her flower beds. She was a former member of William Wagner Questers, Iowa Artists, Des Moines Rose Society and Dallas Center Women's Club. She was a member of the Dallas Center Church of the Brethren, where Galen and she were active all of their married life.
Esther is survived by her children, Gary Buter-baugh of Lakewood, Colo., Linda Williams (Everett) of Swisher and Deb-orah Buterbaugh (John Quarton) of Littleton, Colo.; three grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; five great-grandchildren; seven stepgreat-grandchildren; siblings, Michael Johnson, Reba Beasley and Joyce Weber; a sister-in-law, Velda Morris; and special friends, Edward and Barbara Lewczak.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Galen; and her siblings, Kenneth Johnson, Robert Johnson, Charlotte Hanten and Roberta Nickolas.
Memorials may be made to the family in care of Iles Brandt Chapel in Dallas Center. Visitation will be at Iles Brandt Chapel on Sunday, June 8, from 3 to 5 p.m. Services will be at the Dallas Center Church of the Brethren at 1 p.m. Monday, June 9. Burial will follow at Brethren Cemetery, Dallas Center.
Daily Newsletters