Butterfield Memorial Foundation History

The history of Butterfield Memorial Foundation began in 1900 with a group of Free Methodist women, known as Deaconesses, who answered God’s call to minister to unwed mothers in Oklahoma. They established the Oklahoma Rescue Mission in Guthrie, which was at that time the territorial capital.  In 1909, the ministry was renamed the Holmes Home of Redeeming Love (the Home) and relocated to farmland north of Oklahoma City.

A nursing school was established in 1923, and the first medical facility was constructed in 1931.  In 1944, that medical facility officially became Deaconess Hospital, so named because the community referred to it as the hospital the deaconess ladies ran.  The Home continued to operate along side the hospital and today is known as Deaconess Pregnancy and Adoption.  It is this legacy that laid the groundwork for Deaconess to become a leading medical center in Oklahoma City and the southwest.

In 2005, Deaconess Hospital was sold to a for-profit healthcare network.  The proceeds from the sale of the hospital formed Butterfield Memorial Foundation, named for Rev. and Mrs. Ralph Butterfield.  Rev. Butterfield had been the administrator of Deaconess Hospital, and his wife, Gladys, had been the superintendent of the Home from 1952 until their retirement in 1975.

The Foundation provides grants to Christian nonprofit organizations that meet the whole person healthcare needs of the underserved or uninsured.  Our mission is focused on the physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being of others. Since its inception, more than $36,000,000 in granting and program funds have been given to organizations in Oklahoma and around the world.