Mary Ann Liddle

Mary Ann Liddle Butler, 83, of Oro Valley, Arizona, passed away on August 7, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona.

A celebration of Mary Ann’s life will be at 2:00 pm, Friday, September 30, at Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church in Tucson.

Mary Ann was born on February 25, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, to Kenneth and Mary Ann Loos.  She spent a happy childhood, along with her two younger sisters, in Wilmette, Illinois.  Mary Ann received her degree in education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  She then earned her Master’s degree at Columbia University in New York City.  Mary Ann was a lifelong schoolteacher, teaching in Illinois, School District 11 in Colorado Springs, and finishing her impactful career in the Amphitheater Unified School District in Tucson.

Mary Ann was married to Edward Donn, and from this marriage, her son Brian was born.  She then met Bill Liddle, and in 1976 Mary Ann and Brian officially joined the Liddle family where she took on the role of “Mom of 5 kids” ranging from 18 months to 19 years old! After Bill’s death, Mary Ann married Wayne Butler and spent the last 20 years of her life travelling and enjoying life with him.

Mary Ann was an active and devoted member of Lambda Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Arizona, an international organization that promotes professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education. She served in various officer roles with DKG over the years, including Chapter President and at the State level Chairman and Member of various committees.

She was also very involved with her church, Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church, where she was an Ordained Deacon for 6 years and then was an Ordained Elder where she served as moderator of Worship and Music, and moderator of the Personnel Department.  She was very involved in the renovation of the Church Sanctuary completed just last year.  She also served as worship co-leader alongside the Pastor and many visiting Pastors.

Mary Ann never met a stranger, and was a friend, support system, and loving caregiver to so many in her life.  She is very much missed….

Mary Ann is survived by her husband Wayne Butler; her sisters Linda Walka and Carol Jean Shepard (Tom); her children – Brian (Anna), Susan (Randy), Jeff (Susan), and Kevin; her grandchildren – Zachary, Alyssa, Adam, Lia, Rachel, Amanda, Juliana, and Christopher, and several great grandchildren. Edward Donn, Bill Liddle, and her son Eric Liddle preceded her in death.

In lieu of flowers, the family is encouraging donations to the organizations that were near and dear to Mary Ann – Mountain Shadows Presbyterian Church where she led an active church life (mountainshadowschurch.org); Delta Kappa Gamma (azdkg.weebly.com/forms–applications.html);  or Tohono Chul Park, a botanical garden, nature preserve and cultural museum in Tucson where she spent many wonderful times with family and friends (tohonochul.org/support/make-your-gift/).