As high school kids, when Oleta dared George to hit a home run in exchange for a kiss, she had no idea they would spend the next 40 years together. When George was drafted in 1967, they headed to the altar. From that point, Oleta and George lived a military life and were stationed all over the world including stints in Germany, Belgium and Italy. “Our daughter was born in 1971, and she was an Army brat. She was the first baby born in our group of friends on the base in Germany, so she was spoiled rotten,” Oleta said.
“Then she grew up and entered the military herself. At the time, she had a baby boy, and she thought she could just sign custody over to us while she was oversees. But we were advised to adopt him in case something happened while she was deployed. That’s how we came to have Desmond.” Oleta said. “Then our daughter married and had two daughters. It got to a point that she couldn’t handle the stress. We were already taking care of them, so in order for the girls to have access to medical care and other things we could provide, we adopted them as well.”
But raising grandchildren has its challenges. “We love the babies, but we don’t have many friends our age,” George said. “When the kids were really young, we spent a great deal of time together as a family going on picnics, fishing, boating, etc. We’ve tried to make up for what their parents lacked.”
Additionally, the Butlers (George in particular) have faced health issues including side effects from the Vietnam-era substance, Agent Orange.
“I never dreamed that at my age I’d still be raising children,” Oleta said. “But the thought of them leaving makes me anxious, so now I take it a day at a time.” Desmond is now 19, also in the military and heading to Afghanistan. The girls are 17 and 12.
“We’ve attended retreats for grandparents raising grandchildren and have found these very helpful. They allowed us to spend time with people in the same situation we are in – it provides a great support network,” Oleta said. Now that the grandchildren are starting to leave the nest, Oleta shares her knowledge by mentoring and educating other grandparents that find themselves in similar positions.