Ella Mae Butler, a devoted mother and grandmother, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 31, 2014. Celebration services will be held on Tuesday, August 5th at 10:00 a.m. at Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving, Texas. Graveside services will be held following at 3:00 p.m. in Albany, Oklahoma. Ella was born on November 18, 1942 in Albany, Oklahoma, a rural farming community, to Archie and Eura Heflin. Before moving to Irving, Ella married the love of her life, Wilbur “Sonny” E. Butler, and moved between Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas with their two children Joel and Angela. Ella was a long time Irving resident and a faithful member of Plymouth Park Baptist for close to 25 years. She truly enjoyed her family, friends, and church, and adored spending time with those she loved. She looked forward to game day at church, playing card games, weekly bridge, cheering for her grandchildren, and going on trips with her friends and family. She loved with all she had and spoke openly about her faith, beliefs and opinions. She had a witty personality and could turn any situation into a funny story. Ella was always considered a strong, fun loving person and a hard working, successful businesswoman. At one time, along with her family she owned and managed several hair salons in Irving and Grand Prairie. Ella and her daughter developed the largest sitting agency in the DFW Metroplex, which will continue to be operated by her daughter. Ella is preceded in death by her love: “Sonny” Butler; her parents, Archie and Eura Helfin; and her brothers, Brian and Buddy Heflin. Surviving to cherish Ella’s memory is son, Joel Butler and his wife Amy; daughter, Angela Butler-Tyler and her husband Scot; grandchildren, Dakota, Canyon, and Madison Butler, and Alec, Audrey, and Andrew Tyler; brothers, James, Jerry, Weldon and Dale Heflin; and sister, Evelyn Sample and her husband Donald, many cousins, nieces, nephews and dear friends. Pallbearers will be Joel Butler, Scot Tyler, Dakota and Canyon Butler, and Alec and Andrew Tyler. The family would like to extend their gratitude to the Neurology team at UT Southwestern for their sincere compassion, prayers, and tender care of Ella and her family, in particular Dr. Mickey, Dr. Funk and the wonderful staff of ICU nurses.

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