Mildred “Millie” Jean Butikofer, age 97, of Elgin, Iowa, went home to be with the Lord on Monday morning, December 13, 2021, with her dear husband, Paul, holding her hand. Millie was the daughter of Hans and Lydia Friederich and was born in Elgin, Iowa, on June 9, 1924, along with her twin sister, Margaret. At age 10, Millie moved with her family to Taylor,Missouri. She later married Paul Butikofer on May 8, 1949, in the Taylor Apostolic Christian Church.
Millie graduated from Palmyra High School in Palmyra, Missouri, in 1942. After graduating, she worked in a shoe factory for several years. As a young adult, Millie made the important decision to surrender her life to Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. She was a member of the Apostolic Christian Church and had an enduring faith until the end.
After she married, Millie helped Paul on the farm, driving tractor, baling hay, and raising a few laying hens for eggs, giving her a little extra spending money which she generously shared with others. Together they raised their son, Timothy, and in 1962 when he was 10, they moved to Elgin, Iowa. They retired from farming in 1985, and Millie spent many years helping Paul deliver seed corn to customers and raising and selling melons. Her most important earthly relationship was that of her husband. Often closely by his side, they were married over 72 years and enjoyed a special and often humorous dialogue between the two of them. Special memories were made from family trips and events as well as just ordinary life—living, laughing, and loving.
Millie loved her husband, son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren dearly. She much preferred serving others instead of being served. She was often found making her famous “Grandma’s Pancakes,” helping Paul mow and garden, and helping her grandchildren freeze peaches, sweet corn, and applesauce. She was constantly in prayer for others around her, including the children she and Paul sponsored in Haiti.
Her surviving family includes her husband, Paul, of Copper Creek Senior Living, West Union; son, Tim (Kathy) Butikofer of Elgin; grandchildren, Amy (Rhett) Jensen and Meg (Nick) Benson, both of Elgin; and eight great-grandchildren, Trevin, Avery, Vinley, and Zavier Jensen and Noah, Maribelle, Marin, and Brooks Benson; as well as many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents; three sisters, Rose Curry and Mabel Hodel, both of California, and her twin sister, Margaret Grimm of Wapello, IA; and two brothers, Elmer Reitz of Kahoka, MO, and Fred Reitz of Taylor, MO; as well as many sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and a few nieces and nephews.
Funeral Service: Thursday, December 16, 2021 – 10:30 AM, at the Apostolic Christian Church in Elgin.
Visitation: Wednesday, December 15, 2021, 4 to 6 PM, at the Apostolic Christian Fellowship Center (church basement), in Elgin.
Friends may also call Thursday, December 16, 2021, 9:30 to 10:15 AM at the Apostolic Christian Church, in Elgin.
Interment: Apostolic Christian Cemetery, RR Elgin
Leonard-Grau Funeral Home and Cremation Service of Elgin is assisting the family.