August 18, 1937 – December 5, 2025

Mary Carolyn Butera passed away on December 5, 2024, in Mckinney, TX at the age of 88. Because she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as a child, we take comfort knowing she is in the presence of her Heavenly Father who she unashamedly worshiped and served over her lifetime.

Mary is survived by her children Robin Bryce and her husband, Marty Bryce; Jill Byrd and her husband, Grant Byrd; grandchildren Bobby Bryce; Kayla Williams and her husband, Chance Wiliams; Keegan Byrd and his wife, Victoria Byrd; Darby Gallimore and her husband, Cooper Gallimore; great-grandchildren Lainey Williams and Benjamin Byrd; one brother, Tom Pancamo and his wife Kay Pancamo. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sammy Butera, her brother, Ted Pancamo and her parents.

Mary was born on August 18, 1937 in Houston, TX to Sam Pancamo and Lena (Brown) Pancamo. She grew up in a tight-knit family and community where she enjoyed a simple, but wonderful childhood. After graduating from Milby High School, she joined the workforce and dated and married the love of her life, Sammy Butera on April 6 of 1957 in Houston. Later, they welcomed two daughters into their home. In 1972 they followed Mary’s brother, Tommy to the much smaller town of Friendswood where they lived 48 years before moving to McKinney in May 2020. While remaining a humble but cheerful woman, Mary was an example of the importance of family values, a strong work ethic and the unconditional love of Christ.

Her career consisted of several years as a credit investigator for First City National Bank and in the purchasing and accounting dept at Tennessee Gas Transmission. When her children started their first years in school, she worked as a teacher for Sunny Brook Nursery School where Robin and Jill made lots of friends who loved to be around their mother. She later became a teacher assistant for Friendswood Private Day School and then Clear Creek ISD where she worked in Special Education. Her last 24 years in the workforce were spent with Friendswood ISD as a secretary and receptionist, where high school students liked to gather around her desk, making her laugh or sharing their problems with her because she listened, loved and encouraged them.

If you knew anything about Mary, you knew she adored collecting antiques and imagining the history behind them. While she worked her various teaching jobs, she spent her Saturdays in Pearland, at her antique shop-Carolyn’s Curiosity Shoppe. The antiques in their home were always being bought, sold or traded for something older or more unique. Mary loved discovering new treasures and she made some lifelong friends along the way. It was easy to make Mary laugh and she never met a stranger. She loved people and could talk on the phone with her closest friends or sisters-in-law for HOURS. When she wasn’t working, she was happy dancing with Sammy in the kitchen, spending time with her parents, planning the next trip to Wimberly, or talking to the friends that Robin and Jill brought home so often. When she retired from full-time schoolwork she enjoyed a part-time job at the Antique Center of TX, where she sold antiques for other shop owners and savored more time to be “Mimi” to her grandchildren. She made her home extremely welcoming to anyone who walked in, complete with hugs, laughter, and delicious food. Much of her joy came from any gathering with the very loving and loud Pancamo and Butera families. She always looked forward to attending services and socials at Sagemont Church and never started her day without coffee, God’s word and The Houston Chronicle.

A memorial service is scheduled for December 30, 2025 at 11am at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, Friendswood, TX, with Dr. Grant Byrd officiating. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Mary’s life. The family would like to thank the amazing staff at Stonefield Assisted Living and Memory Care and Freedom Hospice for their never-wavering compassion and care they provided their mother.