Mrs. Beatrice G. Butler, 87, of 7076 W. Blackwater Road, Zuni, died Friday, Jan. 16, 2004, in Autumn Care of Portsmouth. A native of Nansemond County, she was a daughter of the late Ella Jordan Gatling Sharpe and Edward Gatling. She was predeceased by her husband, James T. &uot;J.T.&uot; Butler.

She was a lifelong member of Metropolitan Baptist Church, the Mitchell Memorial Sunday School Class, the Nansemond Order of Eastern Star No. 31, and the Saratoga Community Civic League.

She is survived by one devoted daughter, Julia Liggins of Zuni; four other daughters, Udessa Liggins of Windsor; Margie Smith of Jersey City, N.J.; Veronica Williams of Newark, N.J.; and Virginia Clark of Suffolk; one son, Vernon Butler of Zuni; two special nieces, Constance Mabrey of Portsmouth, and Doris Jean Darden of Fredericksburg; a special cousin, Raymond Whitehead (Audrey) of Murfreesboro, N.C.; and many North Carolina and Virginia cousins.

The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, in Metropolitan Baptist Church in Metropolitan Baptist Church by Dr. Melvin R. Boone. Interment will be in Carver Memorial Cemetery.

The family will be in Crocker Funeral Home Inc. from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19.

Crocker Funeral Home Inc. is handling arrangements.