Julia Prestwood Butts

Julia Prestwood Butts, 80, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, passed away peacefully at Crenshaw Community Hospital on Friday, January 17th, 2025. A graveside memorial service for Julia will be held at 1 PM in Joquin Cemetery on Monday, January 27th. Family and friends will meet in the cemetery at the service time.

Julia was a truly amazing person and a blessing in the lives of all those who knew and loved her. She had an open, generous, and loving heart for everyone she came into contact with throughout her life. You could always count on her to have a smile on her face, no matter what the circumstances, which was guaranteed to uplift the spirits of family, friends, and even perfect strangers. She'll never know how many times she made someone's day better just by being exactly who she was, especially with that special smile and a kind word. That is a special gift that is sorely needed in this world.

Julia spent her career lovingly caring for children as a teacher's aide in elementary education, yet again changing the world in small but so important ways. Children desperately need kind, safe harbors at school to shape them for their future. In her free time, she loved tending to her beautiful flowers around her home and taking trips to the beach with family and friends. She was also a wiz in the kitchen whose southern staples like mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, and banana pudding were outstanding. Even better, she understood it wasn't "real" sweet tea without an appropriate amount of actual sugar! Above all, she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who made her family's life better in every single way and will be sorely missed by all of them.

Julia is preceded in death by her son, Bill Bachmann; parents, Edwin Claybourne & Julia "Dawn" Holland Prestwood; and brother, Clay Prestwood. She is survived by her loving husband of almost 31 years, Wendell Butts; their children, Dawn (Kevin) Durick, Melissa Killough, and Jason (Danielle) Butts; grandchildren, Patrick (Kristin) Bachmann, Jonas Butts, Ronan Butts, and Quinn Butts; great-grandchildren, Jackson & Charlie Bachmann; sister, Lucy (Jim) Armour; and numerous nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorial donations be made to either Kid One Transport of Alabama or St. Jude Children's Hospital.