Lucille Butz

DELMAR - Lucille (Reese) Butz passed into life eternal Wednesday evening, May 11, 2016 at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. The daughter of William and Mable (Moyer) Reese she was born in 1919, in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. She grew up in nearby Silverdale with four brothers, Lawrence, Albert, Stanley and Robert, attended local schools and graduated as a registered nurse from the School of Nursing, Sellersville, Pennsylvania. She is survived by her brother, Stanley ( Anne) Reese, her son, Richard (Gail) Butz, her Granddaughters Lara (Steve) Hammes and Hannah (Barry) Yarwood, and her great grandchildren, Madison Hammes and Ethan Yarwood. In 1941 she married Rev. Alvin H. Butz of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Lancaster, PA where Pastor Butz had his first parish and served churches with him throughout his career and beyond. Sons Richard and William were born in 1942 and 1950 but William passed away in 1955 of Leukemia. In the mid-nineteen sixties they moved to assume the pastorate at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Central Avenue in Albany, NY. In 1973 she returned to nursing, serving at Childs Hospital in Albany. During their time at St John’s, Lucille became the coordinator of the psychiatric socialization program of the Capital District Psychiatric Center that was based at St. John’s. This led to a career in the mental health services field after Pastor Butz’s death in 1973. In 1973 Lucille was asked to become co-founder of Lancaster House, a New York State residence for psychiatrically disabled patients. Lancaster House was one of the first such half-way houses in the country. Moving through the psychiatric health system, she retired in 1986 as Executive Secretary of the Mental Hygiene Review Board of the New York State Commission on Quality Care for the Mentally Disabled. An active member of the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, she also served as a volunteer at the Early Detection Screening Clinic at Albany Medical Center, and as a Breast Cancer Counselor in the Education and Detection Program, at the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center. She also served as a volunteer at the Bethlehem Senior Center and as an Ambassador at Delmar Place, her most recent residence. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, May 20, at the Cathedral of All Saints, 62 S. Swan Street, Albany. The family will be present to receive visitors one hour prior to service time from 10 to 11 am Friday at the Church. The interment will be private. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Endowment Fund of the Cathedral of All Saints or The Bethlehem Senior Projects, 445 Delaware Ave., Delmar, NY 12054.