Barbara Jean Butler

1943/2025 Barbara Jean Butler passed away in Aurora, Ontario on January 23, 2025 after a lengthy and hard-fought battle with her heart, surviving two major surgeries in the process. She was forever feisty as a woman of immense strength, courage, perseverance, and love. Though short in stature she backed down to no one and stood tall for her beliefs and loved ones. Daughter to Harvey Alexander MacPherson and Elizabeth MacPherson (née Laing), Barb was sister to Bruce and predeceased by her older brother Douglas. A loving Aunt to John and Matthew MacPherson on her side, as well as Rob, Janice, and Brent Fiander, and Stephanie and Carol-Ann Johnstone on her husband, Bob Butler’s side. A dedicated Mother to Jason and Brett as well as devoted wife to Bob, Barb was grateful to finally become a Grandmother this past April and thoroughly enjoyed her Granddaughter Layla Jean’s first Christmas. Barb also delighted in being mother-in-law to Allie Thompson, wife of Brett, and having another woman to deal with her “brood of men”. She will be missed by Carol and Edward Fiander, Anne and Harvey Johnstone, Catherine Schuler as well as the rest of her extended family and lifelong friends. Barb was born November 30th, 1943 in Goderich, Ontario, spending her youth there before the family moved to Kitchener Ontario. Barb was a gold medal winner at the Toronto General School of Nursing before receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, with honours, from the University of Western Ontario. She was a proud nurse and served as Supervisor and Teacher at Toronto General Hospital, prior to starting a family, and eventually returned to the nursing world in 1985, working part-time at Baycrest Hospital. Her nursing background also proved very helpful with all the scrapes and bruises her boys endured growing up and playing various sports, which she often got involved with herself as an administrator. She really enjoyed her time in Indonesia with her family from 1982-1985, supporting her husband’s work for IBM. While in Jakarta, Barb was the sole family member to learn to speak Bahasa fluently, a great source of pride that also allowed her to keep everything in order and her family safe. Barb and Bob made many lifelong International friends along the way, most notably Russell and Yvonne Pearse from Australia, whom with they shared many travel adventures in the decades that followed. She was a passionate volunteer for many health organizations, and along with Bob they helped run the Willowdale Sports Club while Jason and Brett played hockey there. Barb, Bob, Jason, and Brett lived in North York, Ontario until the kids went off to school and moved out, then her and Bob moved to Aurora, Ontario, where they remained. Barb and Bob spent as many summers as possible at their lovely second home in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia on the Mira Gut, where the majority of Bob’s family lives. Barb loved to socialize and was always passionate about keeping up with her weekly game of bridge with her besties, including Mary Rae Benedict, even when her eyesight deteriorated. Though legally blind she could still spot a speck of dust on the floor from across the room and always kept everyone on their toes when it came to lighting. She will forever be remembered for her love of family and zest for life, her quick wit and her never ending feistiness. To quote Mark Twain - “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”. She fought to the very end. A celebration of life will be held in the spring. To be notified please email bjb43.celebration@gmail.com Donations to Heart & Stroke https://www.heartandstroke.ca/