Henry C. Buttery

Family-Placed Obituary

Henry C. Buttery Henry C. Buttery, 80, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 5, 2004, at his home in Llano, Tx., following a courageous 12-year battle with prostate cancer. Henry was born on September 27, 1924, to Bessie (Atkins) and Henry C. Buttery in Austin, Tx. He resided in Llano all of his life except for the period when he joined the Marine Corp after finishing high school during World War II. The Marine Corp first sent him to Texas A&M where he attended one year. He was then transferred to Georgia Tech University and graduated from there in February 1945 ,with a Mechanical Engineering degree. While at Texas A&M and Georgia Tech he ran track, lettering at Georgia Tech. After graduating, he reported to officer candidate school at Quantico, Virginia. During that time the atomic bomb was dropped and the war was over. He came home in 1945, with the rank of Captain. The following spring he went to work for Wheland Co. in Chattanooga, Tn., and was there approximately 1-1/2 years. When his father's health began to fail he returned to Llano on January 1, 1948, to help him at Buttery Hardware. While living in Llano he met Norma Lee Wasserman and they were married on February 18, 1951. Shortly after their marriage, he returned to active duty due to the Korean Conflict. Norma and their first child later joined him when he was stationed in North Carolina. Their marriage produced 4 children and lasted 53 years until Norma's death on February 16, 2004. Henry and his family returned to Llano in 1953. During the following years he grew his wholesale hardware business from 5 employees to approximately 165 with his business covering Texas and reaching into Oklahoma and New Mexico. He still managed to find time to contribute much to the community of Llano and received many awards (Masonic Community Builder Award, Llano Outstanding Citizen Award, The Hall of Fame Award, and the Humanitarian Award). He served as president of the Jaycees and the Chamber of Commerce and was a 50+ year member of the Lions Club. He had an instrumental hand in creating the Llano Memorial Hospital and later served as Chairman of the Board. Henry was also important in creating and financing the Llano Community Center and he donated the property for the present day Llano County Library. He helped bring the first Savings and Loan to Llano and served as its president for the first 10 years of its existence. He also served for several years as Chairman of the Board of the Llano National Bank. Church was very important to Henry and he was a 69-year member of the Lutie Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church. He was especially proud of his Sunday School Class. Henry was a very respected man for both his morals and the examples he set. When he became involved in a cause he gave it his all. His opinions and ideas were highly valued and sought out by both family and community. He was a very wise and kind man and will be missed by many. Survivors include daughters Brenda Durst and husband Dusty of Llano, Jean Wallace and husband Harold of Edmond, Oklahoma; sons, William Buttery and wife Becky of Llano, John Buttery and wife Angela of Llano; sister-in-law Anna Shipp and husband Bill of Llano; six grandchildren Travis and Troy Allen, Kristin and Michael Wallace, Andrew and Heath Buttery; and one niece Karla Van Item of Llano. Services will be held Thursday, December 9, 2004, at 3:00 p.m. at the Lutie Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church in Llano. A graveside service will follow at the Llano City Cemetery. Officiating will be Rev. David Griffin. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Llano Memorial Hospital or Lutie Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church or M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.