Nancy Katherine Butler

Nancy Katherine Lewis (Lundeen) Butler was born on October 21st, 1935, and passed away on September 27th, 2025.

Predeceased by her parents, Jack and Catherine (Black) Lewis, and her husband Merrill (Bud) Butler.

Nancy is survived by her children: Susan Pitkin (Steve), Julie Vernetti (Phillip), Philip Lundeen (Cleo), Sally Lundeen, and Maggie Harty (Ronan), her sister Jackie (Lewis) Wohlwend, her stepdaughter Holly (Butler) Loy (Jeffrey), and her grandchildren: Jenny, Joe, David, Jack, Adam, Ben, Samantha, Nicole, James, Ellen, Sarah, and Kate. Nancy is also survived by many great-grandchildren.

Nancy was born and raised in Bloomington, Illinois and attended the University of Illinois. She married Randy Lundeen of Bloomington and together they had five children. Eventually settling in Rockford, Illinois, Nancy was involved in the Rockford Women’s Club, Rockford Country Club, the Junior League, the Children’s Development Center, and was the owner of Katherine’s Bridal and Dress Boutique. There was never a stray, be it a dog, a cat, or a person, that Nancy didn’t take in and care for. The best parties were always at Nancy’s house. Her July 4th parties were legendary.

After a long marriage to Randy, Nancy married Bud Butler in 1980. Together, they traveled to every continent, played bridge and golf, kept old friends and made new friends. They relocated to Mt Pleasant, SC, where they spent the next twenty five years living their very best lives. Nancy was, first and foremost, an artist. Nancy painted, in acrylics and oils, she wrote endlessly: journals, short stories, poetry, even a full length (unpublished) novel. Nancy was a regular volunteer at the Franke Nursing Home where she taught a creative writing class over a decade, encouraging others to tell their stories.

Her great passions were her family, her dogs, and her art. Nancy will be remembered by all who knew her, she said hello to everyone, she remembered everybody’s name from the clerk who bagged her groceries, to the Bishop of Chicago.

Memorial service will be held at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, Sullivans Island , SC on October 22nd at 3:30pm. Reception at Sunrise Presbyterian following the service