Brooke Lynnaie (Butler) Ritchey

Brooke Lynnaie Ritchey, age 39, of Nicholasville, Kentucky passed away November 21, 2022 at her home. Brooke was born in Lexington, Kentucky on May 5, 1983 to Jodi Lynn (Lee) Butler and Burton Jay Butler. 

Brooke was a lifelong learner; after graduating from East Jessamine High School, Brooke pursued careers in the health and finance fields, but found those careers left her unfulfilled. Brooke’s passion was people, and her true calling was helping others. For this reason, Brooke made the decision to continue her education and received her Associate’s in Applied Science from Bluegrass Community and Technical College, her Bachelor’s of Science in Professional Psychology from Bellevue University with academic honors, and had plans to pursue her Master’s in Professional Clinical Psychology. Due to her untimely passing, Brooke will never have the opportunity to officially gain employment in this field, but the evidence of her impact helping others continues to be felt. 

Brooke married Lawrence Gene Ritchey on July 17, 2015 on a beautiful peninsula overlooking the Mexican Caribbean Sea; not only did she marry the love of her life that vacation, she also uncovered an uncanny knack for segway riding. Together, Brooke and Larry rescued and raised their fur babies, Peyton and Ellie. Peyton and Ellie will continue receiving all the nose boops, ice cubes, and belly rubs as would be Brooke’s wishes. 

Brooke enjoyed concert going, reading for leisure, writing, connecting with others, hosting family and friends, traveling, scuba diving, puzzles, movie-watching, cooking, and spending time with her beloved Lawrence. Brooke lived her life proudly as a left hand dominant person and could find a four leaf clover in an asphalt parking lot. Her colorful language, unique sense of humor, quick wit, deep empathy, and fierce loyalty to family and friends were some of her most memorable attributes. Couple costumes were the highlight of every October and boring t-shirts would never be found in her closet (the one she is wearing now says ‘Adios Bitchachos’). 

Brooke is survived by her parents, Burt and Jodi Butler, her husband, Larry, and her siblings: Lauren (Matt, Jackson, and Baylee) Jones, Burton Jay Butler II, and Morgan Butler. Additional survivors include: maternal grandmother Shirley Lee, maternal Uncle Sandford Edward Lee, maternal Uncle James William (Eleanor) Lee, maternal Aunt Julianne Lee (Randy) Huston, paternal Aunt Becky (Bobby) Bravo, and paternal Aunt Bonnie (Dave) Gwilliam, nieces and nephews by marriage: Angelea, Naomi, Haley, Josslyn, Natalie, Christian, Kylee, Makayla, Cody, Wyatt, Madelynn, Laurel, Diana, Cameron, Abbigayle, Hannah, Nevaeh. 

Brooke was preceded in death by: her paternal grandparents, Albert Bay Butler and Arlene (Leland) Vincent, her maternal grandfather, Sandford Julian Lee, her paternal Uncle Branford Butler, her brother-in-law Danny Ritchey, and her nephew Cole Ritchey. 

Details for Brooke’s celebration of life are as follows: 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

4:00 PM

The Oaks 

205 West Oak Street

Nicholasville, KY 40356

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to www.kyhopefulpaws.com or any animal rescue organization in Brooke’s name. 

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