Geraldine Adele Waltie Butkus

West Sand Lake-Geraldine Adele Waltie Butkus, “Jerry”, 91, was born on July 1, 1933 in Portland, Oregon and died on September 2, 2024 at the Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center in Troy, NY.

Jerry began the 1st grade in Oregon City where grades 1 – 8 were all in one room with no indoor plumbing. She attended the University of Oregon for one year, where she was a member of an honorary swimming group (known as the Amphibians) which did synchronized swimming shows.

She was married on September 4, 1954 to Leroy F. Butkus in Eugene, Oregon. They moved to Aix en Provence, France, where they lived for a year. They returned to the U.S. and had 3 children: Kathryn, John and Michael. 

The family moved to Taiwan in 1965 and lived there for 2 years. They returned to the U.S. and lived in Washington, D.C.

They moved to Okinawa in 1971 and lived there for 2 years. In Okinawa Jerry studied yoga with Swami Rameshananda. They returned to the U.S. and moved to Vienna, Virginia, where Jerry taught yoga for 10 years for the Fairfax County Recreation Dept., as well as the Arlington Jail and Virginia State Prison in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1978 she received an Associate Degree in Mental Health Counseling at Northern Virginia Community College.

Jerry studied massage therapy at Potomac Myo-Therapy Institute in Washington D.C. and went on to teach there for 3 years. She had a private massage therapy practice in Vienna, Virginia, for 20 years at a time when massage therapy was not legal in Virginia.

In 1992 Jerry was a delegate for Jerry Brown at the Virginia Democratic Convention.

From 1996-2012, Jerry owned a house in Broadkill Beach, Delaware, where she would host family visits filled with sun and trips to Delaware Bay and Cape Henlopen State Park beaches.

In 2012 Jerry moved to West Sand Lake to be near 2 of her children and 5 grandchildren. She volunteered at The Doors of Hope for 7 years while living in West Sand Lake.

 Jerry was passionate and cared immensely for family and close friends. She loved local firehouse breakfasts, dinners with family, and always looked forward to spending time with her friends at “Liver and Onions” on Friday mornings. 

Jerry was a talented seamstress and knitter, having learned to knit with two pencils as a child, and delighted in creating keepsakes for her loved ones. In tandem to her volunteer work at Doors of Hope, she also would knit with the “GOOFS” at the Averill Park Church of the Covenant to fundraise for the church and other local charities. 

A devoted animal lover, Jerry rescued dogs and cats from local animal shelters. They became core companions throughout her life. She was also a birding enthusiast, feeding and takingspecial care of her backyard birds year-round. She took bird-watching trips to Central America.

During her time in Okinawa, Jerry took floral arranging classes and was a master at building beautiful bouquets. She deeply appreciated flowers and gardening. 

Jerry was fearless with a strong sense of right and wrong and never shied away from speaking her mind. She was loyal, valued social time with her loved ones, and had a gift for telling stories and anecdotes from her life. Jerry was compassionate yet had a straightforward grit that made her relatable and endearing to those that knew her.

Jerry was predeceased by her father Armand Gottlieb Waltie, her mother Edith Champie Waltie, her son Michael and her daughter Kathryn Hardy. She is survived by her son John (Agnes), her son-in-law Billy Hardy (Maggie Fusco), her grandchildren Logan Hardy, Eliza Hardy Santosuosso (Garreth), Lyndsay Butkus Martin (Sean), Morgan Butkus (Haley), and Hannah Butkus, great grandchildren Henry Santosuosso, LouiseSantosuosso, Lainey Butkus, Robin Martin and River Martin.

Relatives and Friends are invited and may call 1-2 pm on Sunday September 15 at the Perry-Komdat Funeral Chapel 2691 NY 43 at Glass Lake Averill Park, followed by a service at 2pm. Interment will be at Elmwood Cemetery in West Sand Lake immediately following the service.

Contributions in Jerry’s memory may be made to either Mohawk Hudson Humane Society 3 Oakland Ave. Menands NY 12204 www.mohawkhumane.org/tributes or Doors of Hope 12 Mall Way West Sand Lake, NY 12196.

Visit www.perrykomdat.com for Directions and a Guestbook.