Gregory Joseph Boutte’ Sunrise: March 1, 1958

Sunset: June 2, 2020

Digital Life Celebration via Zoom:

July 11, 2020 11:00am CST

Gregory Joseph Boutte’ was born in Provident Hospital, Chicago IL on March 1, 1958 to Alvin and Barbara (Gonzaque) Boutte’. He was the third child, first boy and first of the family to be born in Chicago. The family had migrated from Louisiana in the early 50’s.

Greg always had a smile, a laugh and a joke for everyone he encountered! When Greg was just a Toddler, the family moved to a new home in Chatham where they would remain until the mid-90's. Greg was usually the first of the family to meet the neighbors and quickly became a favorite! He could be seen helping Mr. Jenkins in his backyard garden, assisting Great-Uncle Eddie laying bricks for the barbeque pits in the neighbor’s backyards or planting flowers with Pa Swope next door. Our other neighbor, Mrs. Dowdy, was a caterer so Greg helped her by trying out her new recipes! Our Precinct Captain, Mr. Coachman, taught Greg the importance of educating the voters and getting them out to the polls! He was always helping one of the neighbors do whatever outside chores (mowing the lawn, raking leaves in the Fall, landscaping, etc.) and was greatly loved by all of them! When he was not helping the neighborhood gentlemen, he was playing basketball or baseball with the guys of the neighborhood - cousins and extended family! Games were usually played in the alleys between Michigan and Indiana or at either Jane A Neil’s playground or Cole Park.

Greg attended Kindergarten at Jane A Neil school and then transferred to St. Clotilde where he made his First Communion and later graduated. Afterwards, he attended Kenwood Academy and then graduated from Central YMCA where he met his future wife (married in 1989), Ruthchurn Hunter. They became friends, helping each other with homework and spending time together. He helped raise Ruthchurn’s son, David Hunter.

After high school, he found his passion in auto body repair. Greg was a master artist when it came to body and fender work. It was a joy to watch him paint racing stripes as he was so exact, slow and deliberate with each stroke. Every car he repaired was a major work of art as he erased any semblance of prior damage, constantly smoothing and finally adding the paint until the car looked brand new. He

also dabbled a bit in painting pictures, landscapes mainly, but never felt he captured the true beauty of God’s creation, so he rarely shared his work.

Greg always loved children. When his nephews and younger brother were small, he created a character called “The Plumber” who came to tickle and raise havoc with each of them! They loved it! He was lovingly called “Uncle Big Greg!” As a father, he was immensely proud of his daughter and her accomplishments, especially in music and technology.

Greg loved listening to Blues & Jazz, watching Kevin Hart and other comic movies, cooking shows (he used to make a mean pot of red beans), Bears & Bulls, playing Backgammon and Bid Whist! He used to joke that he was putting on his Superhero Cloak because he was unbeatable at both Backgammon and Bid Whist! Of course, he also loved to hear Mom play the piano; his favorite was Fur Elise.

Greg also loved animals. We did not have many pets growing up, but he always remembered our cat, Tommy, and our dog, Pepper. He collected cats and his favorite was Gym Shoe. Gym Shoe was legendary as she demanded to be adopted! She would find ways into their home or was waiting for someone to open the door and whoosh – she was inside! Once inside, she was not leaving and so she was adopted.

Gregory leaves to cherish his memory his daughter, Crystal Boutte, and her mother, Ruthchurn Hunter-Boutte; his sisters, Janice Boutte’ and Jeanette (Floyd) Simpson; his brother, Alvin J Boutte Jr.; nephews, Dennis J Robinson, Greg (Rachael) Robinson and Phillip (Shay) Jones II; and nieces, Sherida Cesar and Patrice (Carlyle) Warner. Additionally, there is a host of other family members, extended family members and friends who will miss him. He was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin J Boutte Sr and Barbara Gonzaque Boutte.

Greg was a very kindhearted person and always helped in times of need. He bought things for his daughter and loved us unconditionally. He spent time with us watching movies, playing games and dancing. He enjoyed jazz, rock, classical and Blues.

With Love, Ruthchurn Hunter

In tears we saw you sinking, we watched you fade away;

you faced your task with courage Your spirit did not bend

And still you kept on fighting Until the very end.

God saw you getting tired When a cure was not to be

So, He put His arms around you And whispered, “Come to me.” So, when we saw you sleeping So peaceful and free from pain

We could not wish you back To suffer that again.

Always remembered and forever missed

By your family and friends

Acknowledgements On behalf of our family, we would like to thank you for your messages, phone calls, happy memories and love as we begin a new chapter. It is never easy to lose a loved one, but a sibling is especially difficult. Our brother will be greatly missed but we are grateful he is out of pain and free from the earthly body that had become so ill from stomach cancer. There are many people who helped Greg along the way. We would like to give a special acknowledgement to all of the physicians, nurses and staff of The Howard Brown Health Center, Trinity Hospital, St Bernard Hospital, Mercy Hospital and Hospice for the compassionate care they gave to him; Mother Josephine Wade of Josephine’s Southern Cooking for all the “home cooked” meals, Deborah Davis and Adrienne Wyatt, Greg’s Personal Bankers, Lincoln Perry Apartments’ management & residents, Leon (Rod) Harris and Rico Harris for all the manual labor and everyone else who loved him.

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations, etc., the family requests that you perform Random Acts of Kindness in Greg’s name. According to Wikipedia: Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, or concern for others, without having an expectation of praise or reward. Aristotle defines kindness as "helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped". Nietzsche considered kindness and love to be the "most curative herbs and agents in human intercourse". Kindness is considered to be one of the Knightly Virtues. In Meher Baba's teachings, God is synonymous with kindness: "God is so kind that it is impossible to imagine His unbounded kindness!"

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