Nancy Ann Butler

Nan grew up and was schooled in Snohomish, graduating as Salutatorian in 1959 from Snohomish High School. She attended Everett Community College before transferring to the University of Washington where she graduated in 1963 with a degree in history. After graduation, she continued her studies at the University of Washington. She received her Masters in 1966 and, in 1972, she became the first woman to receive a PhD in Russian History from the UW.

After receiving her PhD, she taught public school, then began teaching at English Language Services at Seattle University. Nan served for many years as Assistant Director at ELS, though everybody there knew she actually ran the place.

Nan left to start the School for Teaching English as a Second Language (S-TESL) out of her dining room in Phinney Ridge with desks repurposed from a basement storage room at Seattle University. She built S-TESL into a very successful teaching program that lasted for many years after her retirement in 2007, preparing thousands of students to teach English in locations around the globe. The S-TESL certificate program she created was one of the first in the country, leading to a partnership with Seattle University and thus the Seattle University Master’s in TESOL program and ELL Endorsement program came to fruition. Nan was honored with the Sally Wellman Memorial Teaching award in 2005 and her staff, as well as many who were certified by S-TESL, saw her as a mentor, a visionary and a pioneer in the world of teaching ESL.

In retirement, Nan still donated her time to the school while searching for her next adventure. She began to play the violin in 2013 to encourage her granddaughter who had just started to play, unknowingly paving a path to hundreds of relationships later in life. She took every chance to visit with her grandchildren, from the 1/2 mile walk to Jessica, to the 12 hour-2 day drive to Oakland to visit Nate and Jonah. And finally, after surviving a pandemic and missing out on the first 2 years of granddaughter Dallas’s life, Nan finally got to watch her on Mondays for a year.

The children and grandchildren of Nan’s grandparents Ed and Minnie Staswick were born into a large and tight-knit family. Throughout her life, Nan enjoyed the company of that family at gatherings on the Staswick Farm, at Dallas and Inez’s red house in Snohomish, at Laurence and Evelyn Maynard’s home in Everett, and at Dick and Cathy Butler’s home in Montlake, among other places. Nan loved the family’s musical performances, the warm and friendly meals, and the laughter of the children.

Nan was reacquainted with her childhood and high school friend Alan Troupe in 2014. They moved in together in 2015 and married in 2018. With Al, her passion for music was reignited, and she joined many online community groups for violin and fiddle. She formed lasting and strong relationships with musicians around the world, communicating daily on social networks and live concerts on Zoom, while recording them and posting them on YouTube. She would love for everyone to enjoy her passion and art at https://youtube.com/@nancybutler746

Nan is survived by her husband Alan Troupe, older brother Dick Butler and wife Cathy, younger brother David Butler, daughter Kim Darcy, sons Stephen Hasegawa and Peter Butler. She is also survived by 4 grandchildren (Nathan, Jessica, Jonah, and Dallas) and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Dallas (2013) and Inez Butler (1997) and their close group of siblings and their spouses.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Nan’s name can be made to Evergreen Community Orchestra https://www.evergreencommunityorchestra.org/support-eco.html