Marilyn "Butchie" Westover Stainton

Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your Lord.”  Matthew 25:23

Marilyn “Butchie” Westover Stainton, age 76, resident of Columbia, passed away on Saturday, January 2, 2021 at her residence.

The family will visit with friends on Wednesday, January 6th from 5-7pm at the funeral home.  Burial will take place on Friday in Moblie Alabama.  Heritage Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

She was born on March 9, 1944 in Mobile, Alabama to Charles and Lorraine Westover. Butchie spent her entire childhood in Chickasaw, Alabama with her parents, brother Charlie, and sister Marianne. As a young girl, she was a member of Chickasaw Brownie Troop 11 (chartered in 1951). She would remain close friends with this group of women, and continue to have reunions with them throughout her adult life. Butchie met her husband, Harold Richard “Dickie” Stainton when she was just 13, and he was 15. She attended Vigor High School in Chickasaw, Alabama, and was named Homecoming Queen her senior year. She graduated in 1962, and married Dickie on June 1, 1963.

While Dickie was still in college and early in their marriage, she worked as a switch board operator at the University of Southern Mississippi. After Dickie graduated from Southern Mississippi, they moved back to Chickasaw to be close to family, and she worked at WALA TV. They adopted their son, Eric, in April of 1972, and had their daughter, Melissa, in April of 1973. They moved to Bay City, TX in 1980, and Chattanooga, TN in 1987. Throughout her life she was never afraid to tackle a do-it-yourself project- a few of her projects included changing out the heating element in her hot water heater, building cubbies and drawers in her closet, tiling floors, helping build out the basement in her Chattanooga home, and she and a friend even began a wallpaper hanging business for a while. For several years she worked at Hixson United Methodist Church as the maintenance supervisor where she befriended several of the ladies who ran the church day school. This group of ladies wound up being lifelong friends, and they all had several trips/adventures together through the years.

In 1997, they moved back to Mobile to be close to family once again, and lived there until 2003, when they moved to Columbia, Tennessee to be closer to their grandchildren. When she wasn’t spending time with her grandchildren, she was involved in UMW at Columbia First United Methodist Church. She loved the Lord with all her heart and was a good and faithful servant.

Butchie was known for her kindness, her sunny disposition, her servant heart, and for never shying away from learning a new skill or tackling a do-it-yourself project. She was also known for her delicious fried shrimp, and her amazing whipping cream pound cake. She was a friend to all she met and had a passion for helping others. She was a beloved Nana to her 3 grandchildren- she doted on them and made cookies with them every time they came to visit. She was a devoted wife to Dickie for 57 years, a wonderful mom to her children, Eric and Melissa, and a sweet friend to so many. She enjoyed home improvement projects, baking, spending time with her family, and traveling to Chattanooga and Mobile to visit family and friends. She had a wonderful way of making anyone around her feel loved and accepted- you couldn’t help but feel completely at ease in her presence…. when you were with her, you were home. She was light, love, laughter, and kindness. She was loved by so many, none more than her husband who cherished her, and took care of her. She will be dearly missed.

Butchie is preceded in death by her parents, Charles Franklin Westover and Lorraine Hollinghead Westover. She is survived by her husband, Harold Richard Stainton, their son Eric, daughter Melissa Collins and her husband Robert, and her grandchildren Smith, Keller, and Grayson Collins. She is also survived by siblings Marianne Reaves (Jim), Charles Westover (Mary Lou), and sister-in-law Sherri Baugh, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations may be made to Columbia First United Methodist Church: 222 W. 7 ^th Street, Columbia, TN 38401, in memory of Butchie Stainton- UMW Missions