Joan "Jo" Butler

Joan (Jo) Butler, of Oxbow, Richland and Baker, passed away February 1, 2025, at 94 years of age.  A Celebration of Life for Chuck and Jo will be held on May 4th at 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Quail Ridge  Golf Clubhouse in Baker City, Oregon. 

Mary Joan Morse was born in Centerville, Idaho on August 18, 1930, to Mary and Rodney Morse. A midwife attended her birth which was on the top floor of the local butcher shop in Centerville.

Joan and her younger brother, Richard, attended a one room schoolhouse in Centerville the first through the eighth grade. Eventually Mary, Joan and Richard moved to Boise where she attended North Junior High and Boise High School, graduating in 1948.  She then attended Boise Junior College.

Joan and Dick Patterson were married in 1951. Joan and Dick had three children, Paige, Tim and Tracy. Joan later married Charles D. Butler which added his three children, Mark, Diane and Scott, to the family.

Joan and Chuck lived many very happy years in Oxbow village. Joan had beautiful flower beds, and an award-winning garden for the 20 years they lived there. She canned and sewed and quilted. Her quilts, created entirely by hand, are works of art, winning many blue ribbons at the Halfway Fair and Rodeo.  They hiked the mountains, boated on the reservoir, hunted elk and deer, snowmobiled, skied, golfed and entertained family and friends. They picked Huckleberries, mushroomed and cut wood. They attended the Halfway crab feed every year hosting family from far and wide. The Oregon Coast was their favorite vacation destination.

Chucks retirement sent them to Richland, Oregon, where they gloried in the country life.  Their home was large and welcoming to all. The acreage was named the Lazy B.  However, there was nothing lazy about them as they continued to enjoy all their activities plus maintain the pastures.

Her final home with Chuck was in Baker, Oregon, in 2012. They built a home beside the golf course where they could keep an eye on all the action. She continued to golf and loyally attended the lady’s luncheon at the golf club on Wednesday afternoons.

Mom often said the happiest part of her life started when she married Chuck. They spent 46 wonderful years together.

Its hard to capture the essence of who Mom was on paper.  She had style and class and a code of conduct that she lived by daily. Mom was intelligent, inquisitive, creative, kind, generous, loyal and caring. She was talented and artistic. She passed on many good traits and useful lessons that we will continue to treasure.   Mom gave her children and grandchildren unconditional love and support. She was loved dearly and will be forever missed.

Joan was preceded in death by her husband Charles D. Butler in 2020. Her son Timothy C. Patterson, passed unexpectedly in 2021.

Joan is survived by her brother, Richard R. Morse and five children, Paige Matlock, Tracy McKinney (Jerry), Mark Butler (Lisa), Diane McLean (Jerry), Scott Butler (Suzi). Numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

For those who would like to make a memorial donation in memory of Jo, the family suggests either the Panhandle Snowmobile Club, Eagle Valley Ambulance or Halfway/Oxbow Ambulance through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Cremation Services PO Box 543 Halfway, Oregon 97834.  Online condolences may be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com