Wynona Arrington Butner

Mrs. Wynona Arrington Butner died shortly after midnight on February 23, 2017, at Forsyth Medical Center. Mrs. Butner was born in Jackson County, North Carolina to A.F. Arrington and Zona Wood Arrington on January 19, 1924. A graduate of Western Carolina University, she also studied at the University of Miami and Wake Forest University. For a time she was employed by the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. For 40 years she was a chemistry teacher in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. She was twice selected by the American Chemical Society as the Central Carolina Chemistry Teacher of the Year. In 1985 she was the recipient of the American Chemical Society Southeastern Regional Award in high school chemistry teaching. In 1984 she was the teacher of the year for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Mrs. Butner was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international organization for teachers. An active member of College Park Baptist Church for more than 60 years, Wynona had been a teacher of youth, college, and adult classes, a nursery worker, and a kitchen helper. She never got far from the classroom, volunteering from playschool to high school, from sandboxes to science projects and science fair judging. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Lester and her brother Zane. She is survived by a daughter, Lois Butner Gerringer of Tobaccoville; by her son, Richard and his partner, Barbara Gilly of Raleigh; and by two grandchildren, Max Gerringer and Elley Gerringer and her partner, Kenneth Tully. Other survivors include ""honorary grandchildren"" Mike and Brooke Beckert; many nieces and nephews; and a host of students that she often called her ""big team."" Mrs. Butner will be remembered as a loving wife, a devoted mother, a doting grandmother, and a Master teacher. A celebration of her life will be held at College Park Baptist Church on Saturday, March 4, 2017, at 3:00 pm with Dr. Charles Edwards and Rev. Matt Wilson officiating. The family will receive friends following the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to College Park Baptist Church, 1701 Polo Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106 or to Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance, 1047 W. Northwest Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. The family is deeply grateful for the care that Wynona received in her final days from the staff of the eighth floor Acute Palliative Care unit at Forsyth Medical Center. Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel is assisting the family of Mrs. Butner.

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