Joyce A. Butler

Joyce Anne Butler died on Monday, March 30, 2015 while in the Midwest Hospice Suite at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, following an extended illness due to acute adrenal carcinoma. Following the diagnosis, she pursued help in understanding and treating this rare disease at the Diagnostic Therapeutics Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in consultation with the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Joyce was born at Loretto Hospital, Chicago on September 6, 1953, the sixth child to Judge Joseph and Mary Butler of Jackson Blvd. in Chicago. She grew up in an Irish household, surrounded by extended family and in the Resurrection Catholic Parish and School. Her family moved to Arlington Heights to help start St. Edna’s Parish, lived in Ivy Hill subdivision and Joyce graduated from Sacred Heart of Mary High School. She attended College of Santa Fe and worked for a short time in Santa Fe before returning to Chicago to work and continue her education, while taking care of aging parents. She attended Harper College, received a degree in social work from the Jane Adams School of Social Work at UIC, and received a master degree in clinical social work also from UIC. During her years in school she worked at several restaurants in the northwest suburbs including one in the Marshall Fields at Woodfield. Joyce had an earlier career as an EAP working downtown and enjoyed the vibrancy of the city. She continued her education at ISPP in the Loop receiving a doctor of psychology degree. Following an internship at the DuPage County Health Department Joyce continued to work at the Health Department as a clinical director and then the manager of the Transitional Services Center in Wheaton before the onset of her cancer. She had also maintained a private practice in clinical social work in Des Plaines and then in Palatine. Her vibrancy, laughter and concern for the individual were a large influence in the lives of her nieces and nephews over several generations. Someone described her as having a gentle soul. She maintained deep and lasting friendships with high school and other friends from New Mexico, California and the program over the years. She married M. Brent Gustafson and together they lived in Itasca and then in Arlington Heights. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Judge Joseph and Mary Butler, her uncles Richard Sullivan and Fr. Otis Sullivan, and Tom Lyden, her sister Joan Knes and nephew Patrick Cragg. She is survived by her husband, M. Brent Gustafson of Arlington Heights, a maternal aunt Helen (nee Sullivan) Lyden, sisters Janis (Bill) Hayden, Jane McGovern, and Jaye (John) Bullaro, a brother Joseph (Nora) Butler and many nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind her beloved Theo, her French bulldog, a constant comfort and joy in her life. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 17 at All Saints Lutheran Church, 630 S. Quentin Rd., Palatine, IL 60067 with visitation at 2:00 pm and service at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, gifts and memorials are requested to the Joyce Butler Memorial Fund at the BMO Harris Bank or a charity of your choosing.