Mom Eulogy (Part 5)
The last area where Mom was a beloved Pack Rat, was regarding photographs & with respect to this, it was a blessing.  She had a couple dozen photo albums, along with several well organized shoe boxes, totaling 1000’s of photos dating back to before she was born labelled “In the beginning”.  From there, the albums were dated & organized to outline our family history.   Within the pages, she also included notes about the occasion to tell the story.  As Beth & I paged through the albums, we got hours of enjoyment & were reminded of birthday celebrations, cookouts,
New Year’s Eve parties, holiday get togethers, vacations, & other events throughout our childhood & since.  The pictures provided great memories. 
They also outlined the many trips Mom & Dad took with their friends after he retired, as well as the ones she continued to take after his passing.  Many of these later trips were with various Lady Shrine organizations, especially those with Daughters of the Nile, the woman’s organization that performed a fantastic ceremony last night to honor Mom.  It was this group that provided Mom with tremendous friendship & support.  It also brought her tremendous gratification in leading the marching patrol that performed at conferences & special visits of Shrine leadership & dignitaries.   As
Captain of this group, she referred to these ladies with great pride as “Her Girls” & was quick to pull out a group picture whenever the opportunity arose be it with friends, during Dr’s appts, in the supermarket, at a restaurant, as well as with the nurses, PT’s, & others during her recent hospital & rehab stays.  

Mom’s life was filled with friends, family & joy.  Today is a celebration of a life well lived & it’s my belief that she has now joined our Dad, where they are now reunited for eternity.


Mom Eulogy (Part 4)
Another beverage favorite in her fridge was Mickey’s Irish Cream, her homemade version of Bailey’s.   Since my accidental discovery of this concoction about 10-12 years ago, it has become a family favorite & an annual Christmas gift tradition for our friends & my Dart co-workers.  For those of you who haven’t tried it, as well as those who have enjoyed it over the years, we’ll be serving Mickey’s at the luncheon this afternoon down stairs after the cemetery service.  
Above   I   mentioned   the   vast   amount   of   crafting   supplies   Mom   had accumulated.  Another treasure trove was her enormous wardrobe & as fashion trends changed, Mom kept pace in buying new outfits, while also retaining her previous clothing.   Mom SAVED EVERYTHING, & this became crystal clear as Beth & I sorted through Mom’s apartment over the past few weeks.  Even with the moves from our house in Overlea, to Oak Crest, & then to Coral Oaks in Tampa, we really didn’t know the extent of her wardrobe until recently.   You see each of these moves was a negotiation, & Mom was successful in wearing us down to the point of exhaustion so that we finally gave in.  Her justification was, “I still wear that” or “we might need that someday”.  We would respond with “C’mon Mom, it
doesn’t even fit anymore”, or “you’re moving to Florida, you won’t need all those coats & sweaters”.  One situation it particular became an ironclad justification that reinforced her rock of Gibraltar stance of “someday”.  (tell story of Andrew & Michael & my snowsuits).  The one saving grace in our purge & donation process was that computer skills were not among her greatest strengths.  As Kristin mentioned to me during one of our recent phone calls, “can you imagine how much stuff there would have been if Grandma was an internet shopper?”


Mom's Eulogy (Part 3)
There’s no doubt that Christmas was Mom’s favorite holiday, & it’s where she displayed her most ingenious & creative talents in designing & making dozens of different decorations & ornaments.  As Beth & I sorted through the mountain of storage tubs that housed her supplies & works of art, we were entertained & amused by the variety we found.  It was like having an endless supply of Cracker Jack boxes, we never knew what we were going to find in the next one we opened.  The only thing that gave her greater joy than making her crafts, was giving them to friends & family, & selling them at Craft Shows.  She got tremendous joy that others found delight in her work & were willing spend a few bucks to purchase them.  Many of us
benefitted from her creativity & likely have some of her creations on our Christmas tree.   On the table over there, we have displayed a small sampling of her work & we encourage you to visit the table & take a souvenir for your tree, in her remembrance.  ​
While I was astonished by many of the supplies we found in her bins, the one that peaked my interest most, outside of the crab shells, was the 100’s of wine corks she had collected.  I’m still curious how she acquired these, since neither she nor my Dad were big wine drinkers.  As many of you know, her go-to the cocktail was a Perfect VO Manhattan, which she lovingly nicknamed her “Attitude Adjustment”, & anyone who knew her or met her, including the random stranger behind her at the liquor store, or the puzzled server at a restaurant, was educated on the ingredients of her go-to beverage & the correct proportions in making it which was (Tucker said 1-1-1).   The Mickey Manhattan, 1 part sweet vermouth, 1 part dry vermouth, 1 part Seagram’s VO.  


Mom's Eulogy (Part 2 )
She resumed her nursing career working with Dr Wong & later with Dr Sanai in their offices, while also being active with as a room Mom, PTA volunteer, & Den Mother/Scout leader with Cub Scouts & Brownies.  This is when I started to realize her talents in arts & crafts thru the many projects we made during our scouting days.  It was an opportunity for her to blend​ her   creative   skills   in   arts   &   crafts,   with   her   motherly   instincts   for involvement & giving. 
Mom was EXTREMELY ARTISTIC, a trait that I didn’t get a single DNA of, instead she passed them all to Beth.  She was very talented, inventive & resourceful.  She designed & created many of her works of art which were proudly displayed in our home through her many paintings & needlework. Her crafts were routinely rotated for every holiday from Valentines’ Day, to St Patrick’s Day, 4th  of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, & anything in between.  
In her crafting, Mom was very imaginative with regard to her supplies. While you’re likely familiar with Michael's & Hobby Lobby, with vast inventory of boxes & tubs chocked full of supplies she amassed over the years, we could have easily opened a super store called Mickey’s Arts & Crafts Emporium.   This store would have featured typical supplies like paints, brushes, crayons, Sharpies, yarn, ribbon, bows, & Styrofoam balls of various sizes.  It would have also had complimentary items like dried flowers, fabric, lace, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, & tongue depressors. BUT I guarantee you there would have been no other store that would have offered the selection of specialty items she had including PVC pipe, clothes
pins, miniature flower pots & watering cans, wine corks, pine cones,
acorns, twigs, & my absolute favorite, the top shell of blue crabs painted orange to make Baltimore Orioles Christmas ornaments.  


Mom's Eulogy (Part 1)
On behalf of Beth and I & our families, Thank You all for being here today to remember and celebrate the life of our mom.  Gaynel to some, Mickey to many, & beloved by all.  
Mom was born in Pittsburgh but moved to Baltimore when she was about 6 (at an early age).  She grew up in the Waters Edge section of eastern Baltimore County, in the shadows of Bethlehem Steel.  This is significant to all of us gathered here today.  More on that to come.  
After graduating from Dundalk High School, Mom pursued a career in nursing, which was perfectly aligned with her nature in caring for others. During Nursing School, in addition to her medical education, Mom met many other nursing students which would become some of her closest lifelong  friends.   They  were  BFF’s   well  before   the   term  entered  our vocabulary.  They were such a significant part of her life & our family, that we referred to them as our Aunts.  
Upon her graduation from Nursing School, Mom worked in the Operating Room at Church Home & Hospital here in Baltimore for several years.  She took a transit bus to Church Home each day & it was during this time she met our Dad, who was a young apprentice at Bethlehem Steel, & was struck by this beauty who lived down the street from the room he was renting in the neighborhood.   After dating for a few years, they were married & started a family.  
When Beth & I were born, Mom put her nursing career on hold to focus on raising us.  She was the prototypical Mom of the 60’s, right there with June Cleaver, except without the pearls.  (for those of you who don’t understand that reference, Google Leave it to Beaver).
Once Beth & I were in elementary school, she started burning the candle at both ends, combining her nursing skills, with her desire to be an active, involved Mom with her kids.  


Mom's Gifts
(Part 2)
My very best and cherished memories....
Mom would say good morning  to JB, our dad,  every morning.  When she needed help she would ask JB to help her. Never did she let go of her wish of being with dad again.  Our joy is dad is giving her a  big hug and they are dancing.
Within the past several years, Mom would tell us after she told JB good morning then, Mom would ask Jesus to take her hand and lead her through the day.  
One day she called me to share the details of her Vision.
She was excited and bewildered. She had a Vision of Jesus standing  at the top of a hill beneath a large tree. His arms were out stretched to give her a big inviting hug. 
I suggested she draw a picture of the Vision. she explained she would never be able to make the greens as green and the blues as blue as bright as she saw them. nor capture the love and care expressed by the Vision of Jesus. She described it so clearly we could both cherish her experience.
When Mom fell, she said I guess Jesus wasn't holding my hand...a wise person said to her...He was holding you in His arms giving you comfort.
The family was fortunate to be with mom, care for mom. We gave hugs, kisses,  many "I love you and thank yous", held mom tight and said "I got you Mom".  To hear her say "there's my baby".  We watched her pull together her energy to smile and and talk to her grandchildren, friends and family visited and called her. 

Thank you everyone for loving our mother.
Mom is healed now. No more pain or grief. She is Fully restored.
We will miss her. I will miss her.


Mom's Gifts
(Part One)
Jeb and I thank you for being here, showing your love and support to us and our families, as we honor our mother.
Our Mom taught us many lessons by the way she conducted her life, her treatment of others and the everlasting love she had for our father.
Compassion, caring and love.
- I remember Mom sharing stories of her patients. She knew them all by name, their families and truly concerned for each of them. I loved listening to the stories she told with love and compassion. Dedication to her profession was very clear even through a child's eyes.
- Compassion and caring continued outside of her profession:
  * Collecting Angle Tree gifts, stuffing back-to-school back packs and more with the Salvation Army
  * Warmth and love expressed as "my boys" Alex and Caleb were seen on tv commercials for the Shriner's Hospital
  * Annual family vacation when mom would lovingly pack our luggage as children to go Down the Ocean or to the mountains of Mahaffey, PA . Mom packed picnic roadside lunches for our vacations including the educational vacations to Williamsburg, Gettysburg, Luray Caverns, etc. I remember the wicker picnic basket and the big green metal thermos. 
- Jeb and I inherited her  love for travel
 * The love of water and sunshine, Mom had her own rendition of Zak Brown's "Toes" .  Mom would be heard saying, "I want my face in the sun and toes in the sand."  She loved waking on the beach and people watching. I will miss not having more of those days in my future.

continued.....









I have fond memories of "Gaynel and Johnny", in whose basement there was a piano. As a young child, my primary access to pianos had been brief, while passing through Pittsburgh area department stores. My parents hadn't yet noticed my interest. On a visit to Baltimore, in Gaynel's home, I got to sit at a piano for hours, and my parents realized I was playing "Chariots of Fire" by ear. Our visit to Gaynel and John Buterbaugh's home is one of my favorite memories from growing up. 

OBITUARIO

Gaynel Mae Buterbaugh

3 octubre, 1931 – 6 marzo, 2023

Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park & Funeral Home

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