Rosemary Butler (1930-2025)

Rosemary Butler (nee Lorentson) of Hershey, PA, passed away on January 27, 2025, after complications from a stroke. She was just days shy of 95. She was born in Philadelphia to Anna and Erik Lorentson, the youngest of five children.

After high school she worked in the secretarial pool at an insurance company until she married Vincent Butler. Rosemary and Vince had spied each other on the bus, but first met at a football game. They began to date while he was finishing college at Temple University on the GI Bill. They married in 1949 and continued to live in Philadelphia while Vince went to Temple Law School.

Their honeymoon was an overnight stay at the Schwenksville Inn. Unfortunately, Rosemary’s suitcase got left behind and she had to wear Vince’s clothes. Not only that, but a snowstorm kept servers from getting to work at the inn and Rosemary and Vince filled in to help the innkeepers. Isn’t that romantic?

After Vince graduated law school, they moved to Stroudsburg, PA, where he clerked for the president of the PA Superior Court, Judge Chester Rhodes for a year and they welcomed their first child, Michael. They moved to Allentown, PA, when Vince got a job with the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (now PP&L) and their second child, Eric, arrived soon after. As years passed, Patricia, then Jean, and then Sue Ellen arrived and their small home became too small. An old Victorian house in Treichlers, PA, that Rosemary named the Hawthorn House became their new home in 1964.

After the children were all in school, Rosemary went back to school, too: first as library aide at Northampton Area Senior High School and then as secretary to the Vice Principal. When Vince accepted a law partnership at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Harrisburg, they moved to Hershey in 1978. In 1981, Vince moved on to president of the Pennsylvania Electric Association until his retirement in 1991. With his position as president, Rosemary was called upon to be a hostess, sometimes a tour guide, and help meet in various business and social situations. She was always welcoming and gracious, well-liked by all. When Vince retired from PEA, his interest in cooking grew exponentially. To keep peace in the kitchen, Vince became the primary cook of the house, and Rosemary got to retire, too.

Rosemary enjoyed playing bridge all her adult life. She was a shrewd player and participated in bridge clubs for many years. She was always up for a round or two of bridge with friends and family.

Rosemary and Vince always took their family on vacation in the summer. In the early years it was to a cabin on the Delaware River; then to a lodge or cabin on Lake Wallenpaupack. As the family grew and their children married, the cabins got bigger. As more grandchildren arrived, the vacation moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where mansions could fit the entire family. After a few interim years at Rehoboth Beach, Rosemary and daughter Pat discovered Eagles Mere Lake in PA. For the last 26 years, the family has gathered in Eagles Mere, PA, for a week every summer to enjoy each other’s company. That says a lot about the love that Rosemary and Vince imparted on their family.

Rosemary was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 64 years, Vincent Butler; her parents Anna (nee Flynn) and Erik Lorentson; her brothers Ralph, Robert, and James, and her sister Jean Furphy.

She is survived by sons Michael Butler (Donna) and Eric Butler and daughters Patricia Godlasky (Larry), Jean Butler, and Sue Angelo (Joseph); devoted grandkids Sarah Wascura and Erika, Adam and Kevin Butler; Chase and Max Butler; Annie, Liz and John Godlasky; Joe, Debbie and Diana Alsip; Joe, Vince and Mar Angelo; eighteen loving great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial mass will be held at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Hershey, PA, at 11:00 am (the Church will open at 10:00 am) on Saturday, February 15, 2025. A luncheon will be held at the Hershey Italian Club immediately following for family and friends.

The family requests that memorial donations be made to Compassus Hospice, 2578 Interstate Drive, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17110 (compassus.com), or the Alzheimer’s Association, 2595 Interstate Drive, Suite 100, Harrisburg, PA 17110 (alz.org).