BETTY ANN POOLE BUTTS O'DONNELL
March 14, 1943 - November 24, 2015
Betty Ann Poole Butts O’Donnell, 72, of Ivanhoe, NC, entered into eternal rest November 24, 2015 at Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, NC.
Betty was born March 14, 1943 in Kenansville, NC to the late Iris Brown Savage and Richard Franklin Poole. While she was still young, her mother married Betty’s “Daddy Alfred”, the late James Alfred Savage of the Chicken Neck Community, Wallace.
Betty was stricken with polio at the age of 5. Enduring several surgeries, she subsequently spent 27 months at the NC Orthopedic Hospital in Gastonia. Betty continued using crutches and braces for the duration of her life and would never expect to be treated any differently than a nondisabled person.
Betty was never one to let her disability hinder her. After graduating from Wallace-Rose Hill HS in 1961, she attended Miller-Motte Business College in Wilmington. During this time she lived in downtown Wilmington with several other young girls who were also in school with her. She eventually worked at JP Stevens in Wallace for almost 20 years. When Stevens relocated their offices to South Carolina in the early 1980’s, Betty chose to seek other employment. She was hired by John Anderson Johnson as a Deputy Clerk of Superior Court where remained until her retirement in 2005.
Betty met and married Bill Butts, the father of her son, Dean. After their divorce, Betty moved back to North Carolina and lived with her parents on their farm in Wallace. Single for 31 years, Betty met Pat O’Donnell through a mutual friend and they were married April 10, 1999. Betty was truly happy again and Pat was the love of her life. They resided in Ivanhoe, NC.
In her later years, dementia robbed Betty of many things but it was never able to dim the Christian spirit which she exhibited throughout her life. Betty attended Corinth Baptist Church for many years and at the time of her death, was a member of Rockfish Presbyterian Church of Wallace. If Betty was able, you could count on her being at church.
Betty Ann Poole Butts O’Donnell is survived by her devoted husband Pat of their home; her son Dean Butts, his wife Kim, and her grandchildren April Butts and Nicolas Butts of Wallace; her brother Gene Poole of Teachey; stepson Shawn O’Donnell of Wilmington; aunts Edna Adkins, Thelma Jones, and Dorothy Powell. Betty is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A memorial service for Betty was hostedat Rockfish Presbyterian Church on December 5, 2015 at 2 o’clock pm.
Pat, Dean, and the rest of Betty’s family would like to thank everyone for the concern and care shown to her during her life here on earth and are most grateful for those who cared for her during her decline. The end of life care she received at Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville was simply amazing with special thanks directed to Doug Lamb, PA-C and the rest of the nursing and support staff.