Mary Sue Butler

Mary Sue Challas Butler, of Duluth, Minnesota, died on December 31, 2025, surrounded by love. She was a force of nature whose absence will be felt immeasurably. Mary Sue was born on April 18, 1946, in Spirit Lake, Iowa to Mary and Jim Challas- the first of their five children. Her family moved several times while she was growing up, to which she attributed her ease of making friends and her selective southern drawl. She met her husband, Ken, at the University of Minnesota where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in psychology. She went on to attend graduate school there and regularly spoke of her days living in the "bowery" where her favorite uncle was her landlord, and working in a box factory to pay her tuition. After graduating, Mary Sue worked for many years as a therapist at the Human Development Center in Duluth, MN, and later as a consultant for Life House Duluth. She was passionate about helping people with mental illness and was very proud of her work doing street outreach for the CHUM homeless center and her contribution to Duluth's Community Court. Mary Sue had two children, Joseph (Tammie McDonald) Butler, and Molly (Cooper) Hanning, in whom she worked hard to cultivate an equal concern for those marginalized or overlooked. It was most important to Mary Sue that her children were kind, and she modeled the importance of showing up when people were down. She also modeled how to be playful and stay glamorous to her three grandchildren Gus, Maida, and Jack Hanning. She proclaimed herself "Glamma", and dressed the part- bold glasses, bracelets, baubles, and lots of turquoise. She relished racing her grandbabies with her walker and sharing her love of ice-cream bars. Throughout her life, Mary Sue also tended to many standard poodles- the last of which she taught to dance. When Mary Sue was not in Duluth, she was sharing a drink and a laugh with friends that became family at her beloved cabin on Lake Dodo, or enjoying winter in Puerto Vallarta as the self-proclaimed "luckiest woman in the world" for the opportunity to do so. Mary Sue also did hard things and often reassured others that hard things get easier. She traveled across Europe by herself in her twenties and learned to downhill ski in her forties. Her last two years were incredibly challenging in many ways, but nothing broke her spirit. She was incredibly grateful to Linnae Nelson-Seys for helping to make that happen. Along with her children and grandchildren, Mary Sue is survived by her siblings-Ann Adams, Jim Challas, Carol Challas, and John Challas-and many loyal friends. Her husband and parents preceded her in death. In lieu of flowers, please enjoy a dark chocolate dove bar or consider a donation to Life House Duluth, Grace Hospice, or Animal Allies in Duluth. FUNERAL: Mass of Christian Burial on January 9, 2025, at 11:00 AM in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 701 Fillmore St. NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413.

Tributes

Mary Sue Butler

April 18, 1946 - December 31, 2025

Tributes

Mary Sue Butler

April 18, 1946 - December 31, 2025

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