Anita Davidson

A wonderful person to know and love, Anita Davidson lived her life with great integrity. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many, she wanted nothing more than the very best for the family she adored. Her warm personality and rich collection of memories will surely be treasured by her many special friends and family for generations to come.

The year 1932 held many special marks in history. It was the year of the tragic kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son, a winter so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid, and the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. With banks still closing as a result of the Great Depression, William and Ruth (Shaffer) Wisher were eager to welcome into their hearts and home their newborn baby girl, Anita Mae, on April 22, 1932, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Born the second and youngest child, her birth brought light into an era of hard times.

Growing up on a farm in town, Anita learned the importance of pitching in and helping out around the house at a young age. As a young child, she enjoyed trips to Lake Michigan’s shoreline and time at Baseline Lake with her mom and Grandma. During many of these early years, Anita also spent time fishing or camping. She attended Mattawan Consolidated Schools where she enjoyed participating on the high school girl’s basketball team and was also active in the musicals. Smitten at a young age, Anita left high school to marry Robert Butkovich. Together, they had seven children during their eighteen years together.

Anita relished her role as a mother and homemaker. She ran a tight schedule with the kids but also sprinkled their years with fun and laughter. No one ever questioned her love for her children. They were her everything. Even in her busy years raising them, she was known to make special moments for each of them. It was important to her that she connected with each child even if they were given only a short time to star gaze or spend time working in the kitchen. Anita was fiercely protective of her children and supported them in all of their hobbies and interests. Their close bond remained well into their adult years.

After her marriage had ended, was the meeting of her sweetheart George Davidson. George was a close friend of her brother Wayne. Although he had known her for most of her life it was an opportunity for the two of them to evolve. They joined in marriage on June 20, 1969. Both lovers of the outdoors, their honeymoon was in a flat-top trailer parked on the banks of the Manistee River. They enjoyed fishing and campfires. One special memory of this trip was when Anita thought she heard a bear but it was only a porcupine! George was a positive role model for the children and treated each of them as one of his own.

In 1974 Anita entered the world of work in the admitting department of Bronson Hospital. She worked there for twenty years before retiring in 1994. During her retirement, Anita and George continued their love of camping and fishing, often including their grandchildren. They looked forward to each and every family gathering over the years. Anita was a good dancer. It was common for her and George to remain on the dancefloor well into the evening on nearly every special occasion with the family. She and George both enjoyed music and dancing, especially listening to Alan Jackson. Eventually, their family grew to include great-grandchildren and Anita was over the moon! Above all else, she found great satisfaction in making memories as a wonderful grandmother and always wanted the very best for her family.

Anita’s greatest legacy will be the unconditional love she gave to her family and the grace with which she lived her life. She was always a warm and nurturing mother. She talked to her children every day and remained a mainstay in their lives. Good-hearted and strong-willed, her family never went a single day without knowing they were loved. Anita will be deeply missed. May her family and friends lean on all of the special memories she leaves behind to comfort them in her absence and may her memories be eternal.

Anita Mae Davidson died on Thursday, July 13, 2023. She was a longtime member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Members of her family include her children; David (Mary Lou) Butckovich, Dan (Lori Ann) Butkovich, Lori Butkovich, Sheila (Steve) Hyde, Teresa (Mark) McCoy, Thomas (Lisa) Butkovich, Christine (Michael) Davidson; 12 grandchildren: Kari, Annie, Stephen, Tim, Sara, Lorna, Andrew, Ian, Travis, Clay, Andrew, Christopher; and several great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Sandy, and her brother, Wayne.

Please join us at a Life Story Visitation where food, drinks, and stories will be shared on Monday, July 24th from 5-7 pm at Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900. Mass will be held on Saturday, July 29th at 11 am at St. Thomas More Catholic Parish, 421 Monroe Street, Kalamazoo. Visit Anita’s webpage at BetzlerLifeStory.com to archive favorite memories, photos, and to sign her guestbook. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.