Grandma Butler

On June 29th, my Grandmother, Ida Maria Koski Butler, passed away.  She was my last living grandparent.

We traveled to Idaho for her funeral.  I was asked to give the family prayer and felt honored to be able to do so.  Grandma was the ninth of twelve children born to Finnish immigrants.  She grew up on a farm just outside of Newport, New Hampshire.  My Grandma and Grandpa Butler were married during World War II.  In 1944 Grandma took a train from New York City to Waycross, Georgia to visit her brother, Orvo, who was stationed there.  It was here that she was introduced to my Grandfather, and after a whirlwind courtship of eleven days, they were married. After the war, Grandpa brought her home with him to Idaho.  They were married 60 years, until my Grandpa's passing in 2004.  My dad is one of their eight children.

Over Labor Day weekend, we traveled back to Idaho and were able to see Grandma and Grandpa's headstone that had just been set. 



This poem was written by my Grandfather while he was a soldeir during World War II.



Grandma and Jonas in 2008