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.