Bill Buttram

(From Ozark Funeral Home)

Charles William “Bill” Buttram, 84, of Anderson, Missouri departed this life peacefully on Friday, November 24, 2023 at Mercy Hospital Joplin, Missouri. Bill began his journey on December 12, 1938 in Albuquerque, New Mexico born to John Horace Buttram and Evelyn Welch Buttram.

In the early 1940’s the family moved to the Mikes Creek area of McDonald County, Missouri. He learned to work hard as a child, a trait that would serve him well throughout his lifetime. There were six Buttram brothers, they were a tight knit clan of rowdy fun, they loved each other and their little sister to the end. 

Once settled in McDonald County, the boys attended and completed their schooling. After graduating from Pineville High School, Bill joined the Air Force and was stationed at Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he met and married his beautiful bride Mary Ann Varney, they were blessed with their three children: Darren, Susie, and Charles “Chas” Buttram. 

Soon after, the Vietnam War began and Bill answered his country’s call by serving faithfully in the United States Air Force, he chose to go to Vietnam on three different tours. His daily duties in Vietnam were mainly filled with clerical work, but one day was very different, he was delivering supplies to an orphanage and when he arrived the orphanage was on fire. Bill rescued many children that fateful day and was honored by the Air Force for his act of bravery. Throughout the next twenty years Bill advanced through the ranks of the military and retired from the Air Force as a Tech Sergeant. 

The Air Force stationed Bill in many different states with each state offering various opportunities for him to experience: Mountain Home Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho presented him with a desert for his base housing backyard complete with huge boulders and tumbleweed, it also offered salmon fishing and camping on the Snake River’s banks; Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas brought him closer to his family in Missouri and offered rainbow trout fishing and camping along the cold streams of Arkansas; Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana presented him the opportunity to own a farm, build a barn, and build his two story home with his own two hands. 

Bill was a very skilled craftsman, he could build anything that he put his mind to, and he will be fondly remembered wearing a carpenter’s apron with a nail balancing between his lips and sweat on his brow with a smile on his face. Bill was a good man that wasn’t afraid to work hard. He was a natural born charmer, the life of the party, he never met a stranger and he entertained many with his quick wit. Bill’s two favorite hobbies were golfing and dancing, he excelled at both. He could always be found riding around in a golf cart, putting on the green, chatting it up in the country club, or cutting a rug with his fancy footwork wherever music was being played. Bill was fun loving and could create a good time out of any activity. He was loved, and he will be missed by many.

 

He was preceded in death by his parents: John H. Buttram, wife Lenora Buttram; Evelyn Buttram Long and his brothers: Jack Buttram, John Buttram, Ray Buttram, and Robert “Bob” Buttram; his son, Darren Buttram; his second wife, Joyce Buttram and his third wife, Becky Buttram.

Bill is survived by: his brother James “Jimmy” Buttram; his sister Francis Buttram Cook, husband Larry; children: Susie Buttram Jones and Charles “Chas” Buttram; his step-children Phillip Flanagan, wife Patti and Jennifer Flanagan Morris, husband Robert; his grandchildren: Holli Carnes Mulenga, Brooke Scribner, River Buttram, Bellamy Buttram, Baylor Buttram, Emily Buttram, Ken Bryan, Steven Flanagan, Branston Flanagan, Brooklyn Morris, Seth Morris and twelve great grandchildren.

Bill will be honored with a military graveside service and a Christian burial in the Union Cemetery near Stella, Missouri on Monday, December 18th at 2:00. He will be laid to rest alongside his father, stepmother, and his brothers in the Buttram Family plot.