Ida Maria Butler

Ida Maria Koski Butler passed away in the morning on the June 29, 2012, at the family home in Woodville, Idaho.

She was born the ninth of 12 children on April 29, 1925, to Andrew Koski (Antti Kirkinnen) and Alma Sophia Rantala both of whom emigrated from Finland about 1909.    She is survived by one older sister Silvia Marchand who resides in Connecticut, and six of her eight children, Robert (Linda) Butler of Shelley, Kathleen Dees of Taylor, Donald Butler of Woodville,  Andrew Butler of Basalt, Beverly (Kirk) Hyndman, and Pamela Stewart both of Idaho Falls.  She has 30 grandchildren and 40 great grandchildren.  She is preceded in death by her husband Scott Butler, two children, Gale and Allan, a son-in-law Ronald Dees, and two grandchildren.

Ida grew up on the family farm in the rural hills of New Hampshire near the small town of Newport.  The family spoke Finnish in the home and the children did not learn to speak English until they attended public school. The family farm was a good place to grow up during the great depression since they could raise much of their own food.  This was a life lesson that Ida passed on to her children.  She attended public school through the 9th grade.  In her later teenage years, she moved to New York City and worked in a department store.

Ida had five brothers who served in World War II.  One of these brothers, Orvo Koski, served in the Army Air Core.  She rode a train from New York City to Waycross, Georgia to visit her brother.  While in Waycross she asked her brother to introduce her to the handsome soldier from Idaho, Scott Butler.  Scott and Ida were married after an eleven-day courtship on July 1st in 1944.   They made their home in Waycross until Scott received orders to ship to the west coast in preparation for the invasion of Japan.  In September 1945, Ida traveled by train from Georgia to Idaho in anticipation of her husband’s discharge from active duty.  Scott and Ida raised their family in Woodville, Idaho and have resided there since 1952.

Ida was a devoted mother and worked hard along with her husband to raise their children.  They raised large gardens and had a family milk cow, and other livestock and horses to help provide for their family.  The children learned to work alongside their mother as she taught them to raise and preserve food from their efforts.

She worked as a maid and then in potato warehouses to supplemented the family income to help their children become better educated.   Her service in the potato industry lasted from 1962 until 1997 when she was 72.

A viewing is planned for July 3, 2012 in the Woodville LDS Chapel from 8:30 to 9:40 in the morning.  The viewing will be followed by funeral services at 10:00 a.m. and grave side services at the Shelley Hillcrest cemetery.