Ann Maria Wingfield Butler

Ann Maria Wingfield Butler passed peacefully in her home on November 28, 2020, surrounded by family. She was born in Augusta, Georgia on May 29, 1943. She lived in Richmond for 49 years and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2017.
She grew up in Hampton and Prince George County, Virginia, and met her husband, Tommy, at church youth group when they were 12. She graduated from Radford College and Antioch New England Graduate School.
She taught every grade from preschool to eighth for 21 years in public and private schools. The Waldorf Education philosophy centered on regard for the child led her, in 1996, to found the Richmond Waldorf School. Her gratitude for the first group of trusting parents to enroll their children in the fledgling school was immense.
She loved and was adored by family and friends. Of her own family, without boasting, she spoke of her children, Lizzy and Thomas, as her true joy. She and her husband, Tommy, were the truest partners in the enjoyment of life.
She loved boating, crabbing and fishing in the waters of Mobjack Bay, and always appreciated the blazing sunsets. Maria cherished and shared her love of the beauty in all things with those around her. She never turned down an invitation to spend time with friends, and especially loved gathering with neighbors in Spottswood Park. Maria adored her granddaughter, Bea, and was fortunate to spend her last years being an amazing grandmother, enjoying the pleasures of childhood through the eyes of a new generation.
She was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Richmond, and White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. She enjoyed being active in the Wingfield Family Society, Daughters of the American Revolution and many other organizations advancing history, genealogy, education and poetry. Her interests included all handwork, reading, writing, music, myth, the arts, fishing and yes – UFO’s.
Maria was predeceased by her husband of 44 years, Thomas Sterling Butler; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Maria Wingfield; brother, Lamar Wingfield; sister, Margaret Wingfield and nephews, Joshua Ferrell and Edward Wingfield.
She is survived by her children, sister and granddaughter: daughter Elizabeth Butler Mottern (Robert Mottern, III); granddaughter Beatrice Anne Mottern of Raleigh; son, Thomas Sterling Butler, Jr. (Vivian Sylvest) of Denver, Colorado; sister, Theloise Ferrell and brother-in-law (Edson Ferrell) of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and cherished extended family including nieces and nephews.
A private memorial service will be held at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Transitions Life Care, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 or the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, 515 Kimbark Suite 106, Longmont, Colorado, 80501.