Beloved Jean Ann Butt, age 81, went to be with our Lord on July 8, 2026. Born March 10, 1945 in Fort Bragg, NC, she was the only child of James Kammerer Hayes and Jean Chaboudy Hayes, from Morgantown, WV. She attended West Virginia University and graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. She was Social Chairman of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority where she would meet her Tau Kappa Epsilon husband of sixty-years, Charles Henry Butt, and marry on December 29, 1966. After graduation, she traveled with Chuck to Valdosta, GA for United States Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training. To earn enough money to join him in Thailand, Jean Ann taught Art as a substitute teacher in Sacramento, CA.
While in active duty, their only child, Audrey Margaret, was born in Kittery, ME, April 1971. Shortly afterwards, they returned to Morgantown where Jean Ann served on the Gamma Phi Beta Alumnae House Corporation Board and became a licensed real estate agent to assist her father’s business. In 1984, the family moved to Cape Coral, FL for Chuck to continue his civilian banking career. Jean Ann taught travel school, arranged many cruises and planned trips for family and friends. In 2011, Chuck and Jean Ann moved to Clearwater, FL and into her mother’s condominium to be closer to her daughter’s family. She was simultaneously active in the Greater Ft. Myers and Tampa Bay Alumnae Chapters of Gamma Phi Beta ultimately receiving her 50-year Golden Crescent Award pin in 2014.
Jean Ann is survived by her husband, Charles Butt, one cousin, Michele Chaboudy, and her daughter’s family; Audrey Savage, son-in-law Thomas Savage, and her two grandsons, Kyle Glynn Savage and Luke James Savage.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, August 1st at Palm Harbor United Methodist Church, 1551 Belcher Road, Palm Harbor, FL. Kindly dress in blue, any shade, Jean Ann’s favorite color. Her final resting place will be witnessed by family at Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, FL. In lieu of flowers, a donation to either the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation (gammaphibeta.org/donate) or the American Heart Association (americanheart-donate.org) is encouraged.
