Barbara Butta

Barbara Mary Butta ("Babs"), age 66, passed away at her home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on April 15, 2024 after a courageous fight with cancer. Barb grew up in a loving home in Baltimore, MD, in a neighborhood where she had many friends who played in the alley or on Top-field all day and often late into the night. Eastwood was a wonderful place to grow up! She graduated from elementary school at Our Lady of Fatima and then The Catholic High School in Baltimore in 1975. She then attended the Potomac Horse Academy before jumping in a pick-up truck with her friend Gina to cross the country to LA to start a career at AAA. She then moved to San Francsico where she spent her formidable years during the start of the Punk Rock music scene of the 1980's. She easily made friends which she still has today. After moving back to the East Coast, she settled into Alexandria, VA and began her successful career in the information technology field and was one of a few subject matter experts that contractors sought out to support the United States Postal Service. In 2001 she finally settled into her home in Rehoboth Beach where she became an active member of the community. She loved Rehoboth Beach where she was often seen riding her Aprilia Motorbike, often recklessly.

Barb had so many interest that it's difficult to pick her favorite. It didn't really matter what she did, she was the happiest when she was doing it with family and friends. Barb was known for her infectious smile, feisty personality, humor ("Woah, Woah, Woah", if you know you know) and the ease at which she made new friends. She also held a special place in her heart for her many family pets (Francesca, Fresco, Harriet and Sassy, just to name a few) many of which she adopted or fostered and then adopted. The Sandalwood Community where she lives in Rehoboth Beach often saw her walking one of her cats on a leash or hollering "Mama Cat" in a way no one else has been able to replicate. Barb was very concerned about the future of her pets and has made a sizeable donation to Just Us Pet Rescue in Rehoboth Beach to care for her cats after she passed.

Barb took part in many other activities and being very sentimental still has many items that held great memories for her like her rollerblades from her time in California or the racquetball racket she held onto. More recently she enjoyed tennis, golf, pickleball and being part of a women's softball team. Never one to sit still for long she was also, surprisingly active in a Fantasy Football league and recently joined a local gambling club, for entertainment purposes only. She never wanted to miss out on an opportunity to meet new people.

While Barb was feisty, she was also very sentimental and a good friend. She paid close attention to her friends and family's lives. She would probe to make sure all was well and would remind her family and friends of important dates, like birthdays in advance and would follow-up to make sure you called or texted a loved one on their special day. And if you missed one of her special days you can be sure you would sense it when you saw her later. She was a wonderful communicator and stayed in touch with distant family members in Europe or the older friends of a friend from Alexandria. They, in their 90's and in England could expect a monthly Facetime call from her, just to stay in touch. She also was an amateur genealogist. She researched and traveled to Italy and the Czech Republic to gather as much information on her European heritage as possible. If you visited her recently you would have been ushered to a wall in her dining room where she had a collage of pictures of her Italian and Slavic family members going all the way back to her great-great grandparents. She was so proud of the results of her research.

Finally, Barb was an avid photographer of wildlife, primarily in the back yard habitat she created. She would regularly be visited by many deer with their fawns, fluffy fox, raccoons, pileated woodpecker and many other native birds and an occasional skunk. If you were lucky enough to be on her monthly email you were blessed to see the incredible pictures she took.

Barb was proceeded in death by her parents, Sal & Gloria, and her older sister Debbe. She is survived by her brother Mitch, Aunts and Uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins and many, many friends which are too many to mention. She was so grateful for the support she got during her long illness, she never complained, she remained optimistic and was convinced after she was admitted to hospice that she would "Rally" and defeat the illness she was diagnosed with in 2016. She was blessed with an incredible spirit and strength that she shared. She has left her mark on so many people which will keep her memory alive for many years. RIP, Barbie, Barb, Babs, Aunt Barbie, and Cuz!

A memorial gathering to celebrate Barbara's life will be held at Connelly Funeral Home of Dundalk, 7110 Sollers Point Road, on Saturday, December 7th from 10-11 AM with a memorial service to begin at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow the service at Sacred Heart of Jesus Cemetery, 7401 German Hill Road.