Barbara A. (Butt) Mulvaney

Barbara Ann Butt, the daughter of Mildred L. (Doktor) and Lewis H. Butt, was born July 29, 1941 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She grew up in Vancouver, Washington, where she attended Harney Grade School and McLoughlin Jr. High before graduating from Hudson’s Bay High School. After high school, Barb returned to Minnesota where she earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She was subsequently accepted into the Cytotechnology program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she continued her training. While a student at the U of MN, Barb was a member of Alpha Delta Theta Sorority. After completing her training at the Mayo Clinic, she worked at area hospitals in Minneapolis as a cytotechnologist from 1964-1998. Barb was also a co-founder and first president of the Minnesota Society of Cytology.

On September 17, 1966, Barb was united in marriage to Bruce Dodge Mulvaney. The two made their home in the Minneapolis area. Bruce worked at Honeywell Bull and Information Systems until his retirement in 1996. Two years later, following Barb’s retirement, they moved to rural Glenwood in Pope County, Minnesota.

Barb was a naturalist, photographer and writer. She authored a book, published in July 2001 entitled “Notes from a North Country Journal.” Her wildlife articles and photographs appeared in numerous publications and she was a regular photographic contributor to the Minnesota Weather Guide calendar. Barb was the founding member of the Freshwater Foundation and the Minnesota Wildlife Heritage Foundation. She was also a member of the Bluebird Recovery Program in Minnesota. In 2005, she wrote her second book, “The Dogs of Pope County”. All proceeds from the sale of that book were donated to the Pope County Humane Society, which had opened the year prior. That same year, Barb became the director of the organization. She was also a member of several other wildlife and animal humane societies as well as a longtime volunteer with the MN Dept. of Natural Resources and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program through which she delivered Meals on Wheels to Glenwood residents.

Barb died peacefully October 15, 2021 at home. She is survived by her extended family and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Bruce, in 2013.

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