BIOGRAPHY

Butler was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA, on 14 September 1912, as one of eight children born to Mitchell Ouellette and Mary Menard, both originally from Canada. She lost her mother when she was four years old. At the age of 15, she relocated to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to join her sister Delina and to avoid employment in the textile mills.

After a brief period as a waitress at the Marlborough Blenheim hotel, she graduated from Atlantic City High School. Subsequently, in 1933, she graduated from the Atlantic City Hospital School of Nursing. Throughout her career, she held positions at several healthcare facilities and engaged in private duty nursing. Her final role was at the Hebrew Home in Atlantic City.

In 1939, she married Collwyn Butler. They met when a group of nurses from Atlantic City Hospital met with a group of Atlantic City Electric Co. men. This meeting took place after their respective shifts, at a soda fountain situated in a pharmacy on Pacific Avenue near the hospital. The couple had a son, Collwyn Butler Jr.

After her husband passed away of a heart attack in 1975, she lived independently until the age of 102, when health conditions prevented her from further independent living. She continued to drive and shop until the age of 99, at which point a broken hip hindered her mobility. Her interests included knitting, reading, traveling, and engaging in pinochle games at the Egg Harbor Township Senior Center.

Butler passed away at Royal Suites Health Care in Galloway, New Jersey, USA, on 4 October 2022, at the age of 110 years, 20 days.

RECOGNITION

At the time of death, she was the second-oldest known living person in the U.S. state of New Jersey, behind Genevieve Pilot.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Mother’s Day at Royal Suites begins National Skilled Nursing Care Week” – Royal Suites Healthcare and Rehabilitation, 1 May 2018

* Helen M. Butler Obituary – Adams-Perfect Funeral Home, October 2022

GALLERY