Obituary of Kathleen Butler

Kathy Margaret was born September 28, 1938 to Adam and Thelma Gotto in Hugo, CO. She passed away July 10, 2008 in Denver, CO after a lengthy illness. Kathy went to school in Hugo, graduating in 1957. After graduating high school, she attended college at UNC in Greeley. She met and married Rickey Butler on July 6, 1958. Rick and Kathy had 4 sons: Keith, Gary, Steven and Danny. Rickey worked for the Rock Island Railroad until it went out of business, then he started Butler Construction. Rick and Kathy built their first home in the early 1960’s and it was from this home that Kathy started working for the National Weather Service. She recorded weather observations in her back yard and sent them to Denver every 3 hours. When the new weather station was built in the early 70’s, Kathy, not having the education to be a meteorologist in the facility, bid on the janitorial job and got it. Kathy wanting to stay close to her 2nd love (family being 1st) started taking correspondence courses, and got her degree as she worked. She became “officiallyâ€? involved in reporting the weather, becoming a GS-2 meteorological aid. Kathy worked her way up finally becoming the “officer in chargeâ€?. Kathy was the “oneâ€? person in charge and called to have the alarm sounded before the Limon tornado in 1990. If she had not taken that initiative, the devastation in Limon would have been so much worse. Kathy and Rickey wanted to move closer to the mountains, so Kathy bid on a job in Alamosa. They lived there for 8 years, and she was the boss. During that time she was invited to go to Washington, D.C. for a women’s conference, at which she was recognized for directing the only radar facility in the U.S. staffed exclusively by women. After Alamosa, Kathy bid on a job in North Platte, Nebraska, and went there as the new boss, until she retired in 2000. She and Rickey bought a home at Lake McConaughy, NE where they enjoyed a life of fishing and visits from the family and neighbors. One of Kathy’s latest accomplishments was winning the trophy for the biggest catfish at the annual Father’s Day tournament. But then she usually won a trophy for something every year. Preceding Kathy in death were her parents, Thelma and Adam Gotto, her husband Rickey and sister Mary J0 Mitchell. She is survived by her sons: Keith, Gary, Steve and Danny; brothers John (Cheryl) and Mike Gotto; grandkids: Trisha and Michael Mendez, Ashley, Tad, Tylen and Joshua Butler; many brother and sisters in law; cousins and many friends and fishing buddies. She was a great mother and friend, a very loving person. She will be missed by all. A memorial service was held Wednesday July 16th at First United Methodist Church in Limon, Colorado. Memorials may be made to the donor’s choice