Oct. 1, 1940 — April 27, 2015

Nancy O. Butler, 74, of Niles, died at 2:10 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2015, at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana following a brief illness.

She was born on Oct. 1, 1940, in South Bend to Robert L. and Mary Lou (Morris) Oare, and has lived in Niles most of her life. She was the former owner of Coldwell Banker Anchor Real Estate Specialist in Niles. She was a past president of Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors, was Realtor of the Year in 1992, and received the association’s President’s Cup in 2004.

Nancy was president of the Leighton-Oare Foundation, Board Member Emeritus of the Lakeland Foundation of Niles, and was the Upton Volunteer of the Year in 1996. She was a member and Chamber Woman of the Year for the Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce, three times led the annual campaign of the United Fund of Greater Niles, and was a former board member of Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve.

She was a member of Saint Mary Catholic Church in Niles, and a member of the Niles-Buchanan Club of Rotary International, of which she was also a Paul Harris Fellow.

She was formerly married to Paul Butler, Jr.; and was preceded in death by her parents, Robert L. Oare, Sr. in 1960 and Mary Lou Leighton in 2001; her grandparents, including Ernest M. and Ella L. Morris; and a brother, Robert L. Oare, Jr. who died in 2001.

Surviving family includes her children, Paul Butler III of Niles, Mary Anne (Bill) Gross of Saint Louis, Missouri, Robin (Ted) Curtis of Haymarket, Virginia, Cricket Butler of Niles and John Butler of Mishawaka, Indiana; twelve grandchildren and four step-grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren; and Nancy’s brother, Ernest M. (Betty) Oare of Warrenton, Virginia.

The Mass of Christian Burial for Nancy Butler will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015, at Saint Mary Catholic Church by the Rev. Alphonse Savarimuthu, MSFS of the parish. Committal Rites will follow at the Oare Mausoleum in Riverview Cemetery, South Bend.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 until 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles. In keeping with her philanthropic practices, the family has suggested several organizations to which contributions in memory of Nancy might be made, including the Niles Community Foundation, the University of Notre Dame in memory of the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Memorial Hospital in South Bend, the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research – MFMER, and the Lakeland Foundation – Niles.

www.halbritterfunerals.com