Annette Butler
b. 7 August 1919, Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, to Walter Quinton Gresham and Mabel Vawter (Norris) Butler
d. 6 August 1988, Encino, Los Angeles County, California

m/1. April 1936, probably Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky
John Joseph Britt, Jr.
b. 5 September 1913, Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, to John Joseph and Delia Bridgett (Ryan) Britt, Sr.
d. 6 July 1987, Auburndale, Polk County, Florida

m/2. 28 February, 1942, Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana
James Kem Cheeseman
b. 11 January 1921, Greensfork, Randolph County, Indiana, to Earl Alexander and Rotha Beatrice (Ward) Cheeseman
d. 15 September 1991, Mission Viejo, Orange County, California

Children with John Joseph Britt, Jr.:

• Barbara Ann (b. 1936) married Eugene Andrew Betsch

Children with James Kem Cheeseman:

• Cynthia Sue (1943-1997)
• Diane Kem (b. 1946)

Annette was descended from a long line of Indiana pioneers. Her first direct relative to arrive in the Old Northwest Territory was Jesse Vawter who brought a flatboat across the Ohio River from Kentucky to what is now Madison, Indiana, in 1806. He was followed by other direct ancestors: Thomas Endicott who moved to Posey County in 1817, Owen Todd and Maria Jane Paxton who arrived in Jefferson County in 1817, and two different Butler lines – John Hopkins Butler (Jefferson County, 1819) and Chauncey Butler (Jefferson and Jennings counties, 1815). Direct descendants of these and other family lines moved throughout southeastern and central Indiana, finally settling in Richmond, Wayne County.

Annette, her second husband, James Cheeseman, and their children left Richmond in 1946 and moved to Sarasota, Florida. The family then moved to Columbia, South Carolina, shortly thereafter relocating to Burlington and then Lexington, North Carolina. They moved once again, ending up in the greater Los Angeles, California area in 1951.

Annette was gifted in the fine arts; particularly as an author of short stories and poetry and as an amateur artist, painting both in watercolors and oils. She was active as a Girl Scout leader and in PTA. During World War II, she made piston rings at the Perfect Circle plant in Richmond. Following the war, she worked at various secretarial jobs. Her second husband, James Cheeseman, enlisted in the Army during WWII and worked closely with the French Resistance until D-Day. He was awarded the Bronze Star with two clusters, a Presidential Citation, the Croix de Guerre (French Cross) and five bronze service stars. He was also named an honorary field director for the American Red Cross.

Both Annette and her second husband are buried in the Butler plot in Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, Indiana.

Submitted by:
Barbara Ann (Britt) Betsch
Olympia WA
E-mail: bbetsch5639@integrity.com