Cast of Characters: the Adoption Side

I recently put old Playbills up for sale on eBay, and as I looked through them, I found the most impressive thing about them was their cast of characters. For Playbills, it’s the name of the person acting or directing that determines the value of it, as a keepsake.

We have characters that come in and out of our lives, making an impression, leaving their mark; sometimes good, sometimes bad. As my story unfolds through this blog, I thought it might help you to follow along if I gave you my cast of characters. I decided to break the list into at least two parts, maybe more by the time I am done. We will see.

In the 1950’s, the standard grade school reading curriculum involved a series of books featuring the typical American family: mother; father; a son, Dick; two daughters, Jane and Sally; a dog, Spot and a cat, Puff. The image was confirmed by the mid-50s television programming: Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver and The Donna Reed Show.

As I was growing up, except for the dog and cat, I felt that I lived a life close to those images. I had a mother and father. He went to work everyday and she stayed home to take care of me. They did not want me to be raised alone; for fear that I would become spoiled. Since they were unable to have children (I was adopted), they became part of New Jersey’s Foster Care System.

From that system, I have three lifelong brothers and some others that I was fond of, but I have lost touch with them, for almost fifty years.

My Parents:

• William Henry Butler (1915-2000), second of seven children, his mother, Minnie Lee – I have her middle name. Three of his siblings were regulars in my life, Uncle James (and his wife, Aunt Ann), Uncle Vincent and Aunt Marie.

• Jessie Elma Butler (1903-1976), fourth of six children, her mother Rachel. Jessie’s siblings were a part of my life because they were all in the ‘north’ Her sister, Aunt Meme and her four brothers, my uncles, Chauncey, Edward, Milton and Howard.

• Gloria Wilder Butler, my adopted stepmother still lives in Lakewood, NJ and we talk every few months. She has a son, James, who lives near her with his wife Annette and their son, James, Jr.

My Brothers:

• Chester Lee Henderson, foster brother, came to live with us when he was six months old and I was four. He lives in California with his wife, Enriqueta.

• Clifford Paul DeChalus, foster brother, came to live with us when he was six weeks old and I was nine. He lives in New Jersey with his fiancé, Aretha.

• Jay Jamison Butler, adopted stepbrother. Even though he came to live with us when he was 10 days old and I was seventeen, his adoption did not go through until after mommy died, so Gloria is his legal mother. He lives in North Carolina (2 and ½ hours away), with his wife, Tracy and their three children, JJ, Raven and Caleb.

Other Foster Children: if you know them, please try to connect us

• Deborah Dunn
• Maurice Lewis
• Barbara Howard
• Valerie Howard

Extended Family: to be filled in later