Missy O'Bryan Butts

Missy O’Bryan Butts of Fairhope passed away peacefully on 17 August, 2023, with her husband by her side. Born Mary Allison Gorham in Holly Springs, MS on 2 August 1965, she was soon adopted by local restaurant owners Frank and Marie O’Bryan, who renamed her Missy because, as Marie would later say, “it suited her.” The O’Bryan’s later relocated to Montgomery, AL, where Missy grew up and graduated from Catholic High School in 1983. She met her future husband David in 1991, they were married in Baldwin County on 2 October, 1995 and welcomed their daughter Marissa on 6 May, 1999. It can truly be said that Missy never met a stranger. She was well-known in Fairhope and loved by everyone for her wonderful smile and joy for life. Missy was a member of two local book clubs and loved to meet Southern writers and get her books signed downtown at Page and Palette. She also belonged to the Eastern Shore Friends ladies group, the James P. Nix Center, and was excited to join a newly-formed Mardi Gras krewe, Mystics of the Bay. She loved her family and friends, the Alabama Crimson Tide, seasonal decorating, and doing for others. She also doted on her pets Molly, Dorry, Diamond, and Bob and they all adored her. Missy was a graduate of the University of South Alabama and a parishioner at Saint Lawrence Catholic Church in Fairhope. Missy was preceded in death by her adoptive parents and is survived by her husband of 28 years, David C. Butts, and their daughter, Marissa Danielle Butts, both of Fairhope. She is also survived by cousins John O’Bryan of Clarksdale, MS, David O’Bryan of McCarley, MS, Bubba O’Bryan of Independence, MS, Don O’Bryan of Shady Valley, TN, Jean Ann Riddell Anderson of Pass Christian, MS, John Riddell of Bluffton, SC, Mal Riddell of Grenada, MS, Frank Palazola of Memphis, TN, Patty Butter of Bartlett, TN, Steve Duggar of Germantown, TN, and Bill Duggar of Denver, CO, along with brother-in-law Lamar Butts of Gulf Shores, AL and sister-in-law Zane Welch of Montgomery, AL, and many, many friends. Missy will forever be loved and missed by everyone. A funeral mass for Missy will be held at 11:00 AM on 22 September 2023 at Saint Lawrence Catholic Church in Fairhope. Visitation will be one hour prior to mass, and interment will follow in the columbarium.