Kathleen Marra Butts died peacefully Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, at Kimani’s Adult Family Home in Pullman at the age of 96.
Mary Kathleen Headlee was born Dec. 26, 1924, in Aleppo, Pa., to Alvah John Washington Headlee and Mary Jones Headlee. She was soon joined by siblings Ruth and Linden, and later by Nancy and David. In 1927, the family moved to Morgantown, W.Va., so her father could complete his doctorate. Kathleen graduated from Morgantown High School in 1942. She attended West Virginia University, pledged to Alpha Phi Sorority, and received her Bachelor of Science degree in home economics in 1946. She earned her Master of Science in home economics education from Iowa State University in 1948.
After earning her degrees, Kathleen taught vocational home economics at Buckhannon-Upshur High School in Buckhannon, W.Va., for a year before returning to Morgantown to teach at West Virginia University in the College of Education. In 1950, she met George G. Marra, who was also teaching at WVU. They married April 7, 1951, and moved to Pullman where George had just taken a position as a professor of forestry at Washington State University. Pullman is where they made their home and raised their three daughters.
Kathleen began teaching at Washington State University in 1957 in the College of Home Economics. She taught fashion design through the methods of flat pattern, draping and tailoring, and quickly became a favorite teacher. She continued there until 1974 when she put her focus on attaining her Ph.D.
In addition to teaching at the university, she was also a 4-H leader, a charter member of P.E.O. Chapter FI in Pullman, and active in the Panhellenic Association, as well as Fortnightly, a Pullman literary club. She also found time to do course work in interior design and make couture clothing for herself and her daughters.
Always a supporter of the advancement and equality of women, she taught her daughters that the way to a successful life was through education, which, besides sending them to college, included teaching them nutrition, cooking, sewing, manners, good posture and how to set a perfect table.
In 1976, she received her Ph.D. in sociology. In order to put it to work, she commuted from Pullman to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, for the next four years where she had an assistant professorship in the College of Home Economics teaching clothing in contemporary society and the social psychology of clothing.
When George, by then the associate dean of the College of Engineering, retired from WSU in 1980, he took a two-year appointment as deputy director of the Forest Products Research Lab in Madison, Wis. While there, Kathleen enjoyed singing in the Sweet Adelines chorus. In 1982, they returned to Pullman. George died in 1983 at age 68.
Kathleen then made her home in Spokane where she discovered that quilting incorporated everything she loved: design, geometry, precision, sewing and loads of gorgeous fabrics. It turned into an all-consuming passion and a second career. She taught many workshops, wrote articles for national magazines, made quilts showcasing new fabric collections for P&B Textiles, had two quilts juried into the prestigious American Quilter’s Society’s national quilt show in Paducah, Ky., and was a member of numerous quilt guilds. She made hundreds of quilts, all of which she quilted by hand.
On March 1, 1987, Kathleen married William S. Butts, a Pullman physician. This meant a return to Pullman where she continued her quilting obsession, much to the delight and support of Bill. He would read to her while she hand-quilted in the evenings. They shared a love for music and theater that included decades of season tickets to the Spokane Symphony and just about every local play over the years. Kathleen also developed an avid interest in collecting and researching buttons, gave lectures about them, and joined the Syringa Button Society of Idaho. Bill passed away at age 96 in 2010. Kathleen continued her quilting with the same vigor until 2018, when Parkinson’s disease made it impossible to grip a needle.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, her parents and her siblings David, Linden, and Ruth Potter. She is survived by her sister Nancy Lundberg, of Alexandria, Va., her three daughters, Ann Marra (Timothy Ely), of Colfax, Susan Marra (Dave Jeffries), of Vancouver, Wash., and Cathy George (Mark), of Pullman; two grandchildren, Megan Oldenstadt, of West Linn, Ore., and Ross Oldenstadt (Rebecca Frantz) of West Linn, Ore.; and stepsons Charlie Butts (Leah Liberman), of Spokane, and David Butts (Lee), of Portland, Ore., and stepdaughter Kathy Warwick, of Los Angeles.
The family would like to express their gratitude for the loving care Kathleen received at Kimani’s Adult Family Home.
A private family graveside service will be held at the Pullman Cemetery. Kimball Funeral Home is caring for the family. Online condolences may be left at kimballfh.com.
Memorials may be made in her name to P.E.O. in support of education for women, online through donations.peointernational.org/, or by mail to P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50312.
