On April 9, 2026, Scarlet LeeAnn (Jackson) Butts fell asleep in the Lord at her home in Gladstone, Missouri. Scarlet was born on February 13, 1961, in the small community of Butler, Missouri, to John and Violet Jackson. At age 12, Scarlet and her family moved to Belton, Missouri. Scarlet gave birth to her son, Brian Matthew Jackson, in 1978. She eventually settled in Cameron, Missouri. While in Cameron, Scarlet gave birth to her daughter, Adrienne Rochelle Potts, in 1981.
In 1987, Scarlet started at Missouri Western State College (now University). It was there that she met her future husband, Rodney Lynn Butts, in 1988, and they were married later that year. Scarlet graduated from Missouri Western Summa Cum Laude in 1990 with a degree in Political Science. Three years later, she graduated Cum Laude from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with her Juris Doctorate degree, having served as the Editor of the UMKC Law Review.
As an attorney, Scarlet continued her academic excellence with an amazing legal career, starting with a lifelong private practice. Additionally, Scarlet had a partnership with her friend Kimberly Brown in Hamilton, Missouri; served as the municipal prosecutor for the City of Cameron, MO; was the Assistant Prosecutor for Caldwell and DeKalb Counties; and worked as the Child Support Prosecutor for the Hamilton Project, which served a five-county area.
While these roles were rewarding, the one that she was most proud of was her work as a Guardian Ad Litem, where she liked to think of her work as “on the side of the angels.” Scarlet’s life has been guided by her faith. When she and her husband moved to Gladstone, Missouri, in 2011, they found a home at the King of Kings Lutheran Church of Kansas City, Missouri. Scarlet loved her church, her community, and perhaps most of all her seven grandchildren.
Scarlet is preceded in death by her father, John Jackson, Jr. She is survived by her mother, Violet Irene (Sturm) Jackson-Artinger (Kansas City, KS); her sister, Teresa (Jackson) Honn (High Point, NC) and her family; her brother, John Jackson III (Kansas City, MO) and his family; her son, Brian Matthew and Brian’s wife, Lindsay Hannah (Bair) (Greensboro, NC); her daughter, Adrienne Rochelle (San Diego, CA); and seven grandchildren that she adored beyond words, Brytin David Broussard, Samuel Matthew Jackson, Elijah James Robert Jackson, Bryana Jocelyn Castillo, Chloe Elizabeth Jackson, Hadley Grace Jackson and Noah Finn Jackson. Scarlet is also survived and deeply missed by her husband of 37 years, Rodney.
Scarlet’s obsequies are as follows: Visitation at the King of Kings Lutheran Church (1701 NE 96th St, Kansas City, MO) at 9 AM, Christian Funeral at King of Kings at 11 AM, after which the church will serve a meal. A Graveside Service will follow at 3 PM at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Butler, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers, we encourage you to honor Scarlet’s life by taking time to help the weak or marginalized,
forgiving someone, encouraging others, and being gentle. We would also ask that you consider contributing to the American Association for Cancer Research (https://www.aacr.org/) and/or the American Lung Association (https://www.lung.org/).
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