Jenny Buttke's obituary in the Janesville Gazette.

Jennifer Lynn Buttke, Janesville, WI

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December 19, 2015

April 13, 1971 - December 17, 2015

Jennifer Lynn Buttke, age 44, of Janesville, died at home on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, after a courageous struggle with cancer. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends! Jennifer was born on April 13, 1971, in Milwaukee, the daughter of Dianne H. Pardee (Marx) and James A. Pardee. She graduated from Janesville’s Craig High School in 1989, and attended college at the UW-Madison, and UW-Whitewater, in pursuit of a degree in business. On Sept. 12, 1998, she married her best friend, Ronald D. Buttke, and had two beautiful children, Camryn and Jordan Buttke. She lived in the Janesville area, and worked for several years as a laboratory technician for her parent’s business, Vital Living Center. Jennifer started her own successful business “The Little Woods Farm” providing shares for the Community Supported Agriculture Program and Farmer’s Market. She was a proud Homeschool mother of two wonderful children. She was a dynamic part of their activities to include being a leader in the Homeschool QUEST program and a coach for the Homeschool Eagles track and cross-country team. She served as Communication Director for the Consolidated 4-H Club, and was a volunteer for the children’s program at the Hedberg Public Library. Jennifer will be especially remembered for her love of life and creativity. She had a special passion for organic gardening and nutrition, which was evident in her remarkable crops each year. She also had a zest for American Girl Dolls, which brought her to make a quite successful American Girl YouTube Channel.

Jennifer is survived by her husband, Ronald Buttke; two children, Camryn and Jordan Buttke; brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Loan Pardee (Hoang) and their children: Noah, Katherine, Jacob, Benjamin, Samuel, and Elizabeth Pardee; and her paternal grandmother, Doris Pardee (Lentz). She was preceded in death by her parents, Diane Pardee (Marx) and James A. Pardee; maternal grandparents, Louise (Marx) Schneider and Edward Marx; and paternal grandfather, Alain Pardee.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at ST. WILLIAM CATHOLIC CHURCH with Rev. Brian Dulli officiating. A visitation will be held on Sunday from 12 until 2 p.m. at SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY and again on Monday from 10 until 11 a.m. at St. William Catholic Church. Interment will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Jennifer L. Buttke Memorial Fund for her children, at any Blackhawk Community Credit Union in Janesville. Family and friends are invited to a luncheon at St. William Catholic Church following the Mass. For online condolences and registry: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com

Our family sends a special thank you to everyone who has helped us through this difficult time. Jenny was positive throughout this entire ordeal reminding us how wonderful of a life she had and how blessed she was to live it. Your visits, warm wishes, and prayers were a great comfort to her. You all mean the world to us, and it is evident that Jenny was an expert at finding wonderful friends who made her life something to cherish.

God Bless You All! 

Jenny Buttke - The loss of a dear friend.

Jenny was called Home yesterday after a battle with stomach cancer.  I remember at the end of September Jenny told me she wasn't feeling good and was having a hard time keeping food down. On October 5th she went to urgent care because she was so weak from the lack of food. They did a CT scan, x-rays, and blood work, but they couldn't find anything wrong so she went home frustrated. She did some internet research and thought it might be a gastric paralysis and hoped she could find a natural remedy; that it would be temporary.
Things took a turn for the worst after that.
October 24, Jenny texted me that she was in the hospital at Dean St. Mary's. They did a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and found masses in her stomach, colon, ovaries, and various other places. That is when she started giving chickens away. That may seem like an odd statement but, God Bless her, that was Jenny. She knew she wouldn't be able to take care of them and she wanted to make sure they found good homes, which they did.
On October 29, friends gathered together in Jenny's hospital room to get the verdict. She told us the doctor said treatment would be futile and she had about 3 months. There were a lot of tears, but I was amazed at how she was still able to laugh and be her cheeky self and before long we were all laughing and joking with her. Jenny accepted the diagnosis with grace and thanksgiving for the time the Lord was giving her. She saw an opportunity to spend time with friends and family and be able to say goodbye and prepare her children. Her children being her biggest concern knowing this would be the toughest on them.

Jenny was such a gentle and soft spoken woman. Philippians 4:4-7 reminds me of her.
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When she told us of her prognosis, she wasn't anxious. The rest of us were more of a mess than she was. She seemed at peace, grateful that she knew Jesus and praised him.

She touched so many people throughout her life and I feel blessed having known her. She was secure in her faith and knew her Heavenly Father was waiting for her with open arms. Although I miss her terribly, I know I will see her again someday. Save a spot for me at the banquet table, Jenny.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." - 1 Peter 1:3

Thanksgiving 2015

First I'll start out with our gluten-free Thanksgiving at home. Matt cooked a wonderful feast.  I was in charge of the stuffing, gravy and sweet potatoes. Everything was so yummy. Karen, brought over pumpkin pie.  It was the only item I couldn't eat. I had made a paleo apple crisp for my own desert.  I experimented and created the recipe myself.  I've since then tweaked it and improved it.



Matt and I had to work the next day but we were able to go to Wausau for the weekend for some time with my family since we treat Thanksgiving like Christmas.
I brought some turkey, stuffing, gravy, and apple crisp for myself since I didn't know what I would be able to eat there.  Good thing I did too. Matt also did a lot of cooking while we were there. Everyone loves Matt's Ziti.

 Jeremy would be happy to hire Matt as his personal chef.

I made sure to get pictures of my grandpa Mathie. He is 87 and still works hard on the farm everyday. Mostly the sawmill.

Of course what is Thanksgiving without football.  Or at least football talk. 

Serious football discussion happening here!

Gotta have the dogs begging for ... anything. Food, hugs, kiss, etc..

Except for Frost.  She found her happy place in front of the warm vent.

We got to watch Ant-Man in Laura and Jeremy's theater room.

Then afterwards we tried to take a family picture.  Getting us all in the same spot is like herding cats.

Okay, theater room is a no. On to trying the family room.

Good grief! Can we just get it together!!

No? Okay. There is always one in every family. Ours is usually my BIL Jeremy or my nephew Jacob.

Yeah, Charlie is never going to sit still and look at the camera so just take it already!

There. Family photo for 2015. Phew, til next year.

Health Report

For the past 4 months I have been on the AIP diet.  I have slowly added things to see if I have reactions.  So far the results have been positive.  I know now that gluten, grains of any kind, refined sugars, soy, dairy, artificial preservatives, and processed food in general are absolute no-nos.  Whereas, natural sugars, potatoes, and things with caffeine are on the list of, "use sparingly." I've experienced the benefits of using healthy fats.  I buy coconut oil in bulk now.
This website pretty much sums up my diet: ms diet for women

My health has really improved! The MS symptoms have reduced.  I no longer have vertigo which means I can swim again and I don't get dizzy taking elevators or escalators.  My ability to speak is back. I don't have to use Sign Language as much to help me express my thoughts. It still happens from time to time, because well, that's just me. I noticed the tingling sensation has really gone down.  I don't feel like a hoard of ants are crawling all over me every time I get too hot. I've also lost 25 lbs so far and I continue to loss weight at a healthy rate.

Right now we are planning a modified AIP Thanksgiving. There are so many wonderful websites out there to help us. Matt is determined to make this a, "Brenda's diet" Thanksgiving. He is looking forward to the challenge.  I am so blessed to have a loving supportive husband.

Sparring

While at a friend's graduation party (Will Kermott) the "kids" sparred with foam swords.

Matt also tossed the football around with Ian (a friend of Zach and Sam)

 Ian asked Sam to keep score of who caught the most.  Matt won, but Ian vehemently disagreed!

New hairdo

Love my new summer do!

Matt's surgery.

Matt had a cyst on the back of his head for as long as I can remember.  It was pea size for the longest time until recently when it got to the size of a ping-pong ball.  It was starting to become uncomfortable for him so he got it removed.

Weekend in Wausau

We spent this past weekend in Wausau.  Our main purpose for the trip was to visit some of my old girlfriends from HS.

Oh, and Matt got to visit his mistress, Veeta (the dog). 

It was such a great time!  I miss these girls already.  Can't wait to do it again.  Can't believe how big everyone's kids have gotten.  

Zach's allergies were so bad the entire time that he spent most of the time on the couch.  Over the counter medications didn't work.  He even said his lips itch.  Getting him to the doctor as soon as I can and will update on that later.

Sam brought Lily with her so she could have someone to hangout with.  The girls slept at my sister's house since her new house has guest bedroom in the basement.  The basement also has a theater room which they enjoyed immensely.

Before meeting up with my friends, we went to Owl Ridge where my dad showcased his Camaro during their Family Fun Day.

 Along with some other cool cars.

The event gets bigger and better every year with a petting zoo, bounce house, great food, and car show.  If you have a change, get there next year.  It's worth it!

Sunday morning the men helped my grandpa Mathie in the sawmill.  Zach helped too but with a mask on.  He said most of his allergy symptoms went away because of the mask except for his itchy eyes.  

Matt and Zach found wood ticks on them.  Luckily they hadn't latched on yet and we were able to burn the little suckers.  It's fun to burn them.  They pop like popcorn.  Burn.  Burn them all!!!

The afternoon was spend on Rib Mountain State Park.  

Playing on the ski lifts

After we had a late lunch we raced home because Matt had a meeting for Salvation Army where he has been volunteering with the kids.  This meeting was more of a concert and awards ceremony.  The kids and I stayed home since we are all sick.  Girls and I with a cold and Zach with his allergies.