Dates
Vanna Louise Butler Almond, 77, of San Angelo, Texas, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, educator, and faithful servant of Christ, Vanna lived with an unwavering purpose: to love people well and share the hope of Jesus Christ with everyone God placed in her path.
Vanna was born December 13, 1948, in Lubbock, Texas, to Billy Frank Butler and Mary Colleen Smith Butler and was raised in Snyder, Texas, alongside her brother, James Mitchell “Mitch” Butler. She graduated from Snyder High School in 1967, where she was a cheerleader, served on Student Council, participated in A Cappella Choir, and was named Track Duchess, Baseball Sweetheart, and Senior Favorite.
Vanna graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education and a minor in speech. Education became one of her great callings. She began teaching in Alvin, Texas, and completed a 34-year career in education, including 31 years with San Angelo Independent School District. She taught for many years at Bowie Elementary and was especially known for teaching English and the “lost art” of diagramming sentences.
Later in her career, Vanna implemented San Angelo’s Helping One Student to Succeed (H.O.S.T.S.) mathematics program and served as an At-Risk Coordinator, at the Central Freshman Campus. She retired in 2013, leaving a legacy in the countless students she taught, encouraged, and believed in. Her passion for education continues through The Vanna Almond Scholarship Fund with The WHIT Program, helping foster youth successfully transition into higher education.
Vanna’s great earthly love story began in Snyder with her high school sweetheart, Mickey Almond. They married September 2, 1972, and built a life centered on faith, family, service, and love. They recently celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.
Vanna and Mickey were blessed with two daughters, Mandy and Audrey. Vanna made ordinary moments memorable and holidays magical, while faithfully supporting her daughters through every season of life. Sundays meant church, and youth camp often meant Mom coming along as a sponsor.
That devotion continued as grandmother to Merrick and Myron. She treasured them from the days they were born, creating countless memories and, most importantly, just as she did with her daughters, making certain that faith was not simply something practiced at church, it was the foundation upon which life was built.
For Vanna, faith was not merely part of her life, it was the reason she existed. She came to know the Lord at a young age and never wavered. Vanna and Mickey raised their family at First Baptist Church and later became part of the Glen Meadows Baptist Church community. She taught Sunday school, led prayer groups and Bible studies, invested in youth and young adults, and opened their home for fellowship, church gatherings, and even baptisms in their backyard pool. She also served for many years through Philia Club and Community Bible Study.
Yet some of Vanna’s greatest ministry happened wherever she happened to be. Vanna prayed with people. She prayed personally with hundreds of people she encountered throughout her life. Her family often heard her say, “What would I tell Jesus in Heaven if He asked me, ‘Why didn’t you pray for that person?’”
Vanna “walked the walk.” She was a woman of generosity, compassion, perseverance, kindness, loyalty, service, and fierce devotion to family. Her legacy lives in the students she taught, the people she prayed over, the family she nurtured, and the generations she pointed toward Christ.
Vanna is survived by her husband, Mickey Almond; her much-adored daughters, Mandy Barrow and husband Michael, and Audrey Graber and husband Lance; her beloved grandchildren, Merrick and Myron Barrow; her loving little brother, Mitch Butler and wife Cindy; brother-in-law Bruce Almond and wife Debbie; cousins Randy and Debbie Smith; nephews Brady Quam and Shawn Almond; stepmother-in-law Zotyne Almond; and other family members who brought Vanna great joy.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Albert and Zella Morrow; parents, Bill Butler, and Roger and Colleen Holmes; father-in-law, Herman “Bookie” Almond; mother-in-law, Joyce Baxter; and beloved aunt and uncle, Mack and Ann Smith.
A visitation will be held at Johnson’s Funeral Home on Friday, September 18, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. A celebration of Vanna’s life will be held at Glen Meadows Baptist Church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2026 with Mack Roller officiating.
The family kindly requests that any memorial donations be made to the Vanna Almond Scholarship Fund through The WHIT Program or to Shepherd’s Way, an organization dear to Vanna’s family and reflective of her lifelong commitment to helping others.