Florence M Butryn

Florence M. Butryn (Floss) passed away peacefully in her home on January 7, 2019 at 4:00 PM surrounded and comforted by her family.

Florence was born on April 28, 1929 in Philadelphia, PA, the daughter of Elva and Bernard McGorrey.  Florence had a brother, Bernard Jr. who passed away in August 2018.  She grew up in North Philadelphia and attended Clymer Grade School.  Florence skipped third grade and started Girls High School when she was thirteen years old.  While she was at Girls High, Florence took additional classes at a business school since she wanted to become more proficient in her office skills.

Florence graduated from Girls High in 1946 and had a strong desire to work in a business office.   Her first step in attaining this goal was by working at the Quartermasters in South Philadelphia where they made military uniforms.  After a few months, her dream came true when she started working at Bell Telephone in September of 1946.  Florence especially wanted to work at “Bell Tell” since she could get phone service for half price!  She worked at Bell Tell from 1946 to 1953.

Florence married Bill Butryn in 1952 and was married for 44 years until his sudden passing in 1996.  Florence is survived by her children; Bill, Bob and Terri.  She is also survived by her seven grandchildren; Andrew, Michael, Alyson, Emily, Meredith, Kyle and Natalie.  

Florence loved to social dance.  She taught her husband Bill how to dance and they enjoyed countless hours of dancing both in their early years and up to Bill’s death.  She was also an avid seamstress and made many of her own clothes as well as some mother/daughter dresses.  Florence loved going to the casino with Bill, and eventually her son, to try her hand at the slot machines.  It really gave her a thrill and her lucky was pretty good.

Florence was a proper, “follow the rules” kind of woman, yet her warm loving side came through when you got know her.   She was interesting to talk with and read the Philadelphia Inquirer every day.  She was as sharp as anyone concerning the news of the day and never seemed to forget anything.  She was an expert on crosswords and cryptograms. Even at 89 years old, the daily cryptogram had to be finished for her day to feel complete. She also liked to watch Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and loved discussing Dancing With The Stars.

Florence enjoyed seeing her children and grandchildren at special occasions, holidays, and many times in between.  In her later years, there always seemed to be a new story for her to share that no one had ever heard before.  She also loved seeing extended family members and friends.  These visits filled her days with joy.

The family looked forward to Florence’s stuffing (or “filling” as she called it) at the holiday table and she always had oven fresh biscuits waiting for the grandkids to enjoy.  She enjoyed putting up Christmas decorations, and even in her later years when she couldn’t physically assist, she gave thorough directions from her favorite chair.  She was good at that and her family was happy to oblige.

Florence’s last years were filled with many happy memories and mostly good health.  She was extremely lucky to have been surrounded by the most caring and gracious neighbors imaginable as well as having the best hairdresser in the world whom she adored.  Florence will be greatly missed by all who were part of her world.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial donations may be made in Florence’s name  to 

Holy Redeemer Hospice
12265 Townsend Road
Philadelphia, PA 19154

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