Laura Alice Butts

Laura was born during the Christmas season on December 7, 1976, in Lafayette, Louisiana and was named for her mother and great-grandmother. She was the firstborn of three children to Hal Bowie and Alice Christine Thomas Butts. Her thrill at being an only child was disrupted a few years later when her sister Katherine Elizabeth Butts Pace of Shreveport, LA (Jeff, Caroline, Truett), and her brother David Thomas Butts of Denver, CO (Allison, Cecelia, Beatrix) were born. Laura was a precocious child with the motto ‘Me Do It’! Laura’s childhood friends and teachers from Ascension Episcopal School and Academy of the Sacred Heart encouraged her to be all she could be. Her Christian discipleship began at First Methodist Church, Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, and on YWAM mission trips. Growing up on Mosswood Circle, as Princess Leah, Laura organized bike/big wheel parades and directed the neighborhood Christmas pageant. She was also an enthusiastic reader who was very proud of her Lafayette and Louisiana roots.

Laura arrived in Atlanta, GA in 1994 to begin her education at Oglethorpe University, majoring in International Studies. She was student body president as well as being omnipresent on campus. She began a distinguished career with Southern Company where she thrived in IT service management. One of her key accomplishments was leading a storm restoration team after Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, MS. In 2008 she graduated from LEAD Atlanta, a program targeting promising young professionals in Metro Atlanta. Laura later studied at Georgetown University in the GEMBA program. She continued her career with Deloitte, Slalom, SunTrust, and KPMG. She excelled in turning complex spreadsheets into understandable business communications.

Laura was an avid Francophile visiting over 12 nations, for both pleasure and professional enrichment, speaking French along the way. She was a woman of fashion, a great fan of SEC football, hikes around the Rocky Mountains near Estes Park, CO, and her childhood peter rabbit blanket. She created Mandala masterpieces, treasured the companionship of her shibu inu, Dosh, and manifested her credo that ‘kindness is everything’.

Her magnanimous life was cut short at the age of 46 on April 22, 2023, as she continued grappling with the disease of mental health. Through the years, she tried desperately to recover from depression and addiction through counseling, multiple recovery programs in several states, prescribed medications, and following many other programs. Few people knew what she was dealing with, seeing only the vivacious, put-together, young woman who made an impact on everyone she met.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the Atlanta area on Saturday, May 20, at 11:00 am, at Northside Drive Baptist Church, 3100 Northside Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30305 with visitation and ‘Laura stories’ following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Laura’s memory to the Northside Drive Baptist Church.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Lafayette on June 3 at 11:00 am at Youngsville Community Church. 4129 Verot School Road Youngsville, LA 70592. Visitation will begin at the church at 9:00 a.m. followed by services at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Laura to ‘For the One Foundation, Inc.’, 4717 Hondo Pass Drive, Ste. 1-D, PMB# 170, El Paso, TX 79904-1456 or at www.fortheonefoundation.com

The Staff of H.M. Patterson and Son- Canton Hill is honored to be entrusted with The Final Life Celebration Arrangements for the late Ms. Laura Alice Butts.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hmpattersoncantonhill.com for the Butts family.