A soft landing

“I’m just trying not to fumble this retirement thing,” says Gloria Butler lightheartedly of her departure after 39 years at the helm of Gloria Butler State Farm Insurance Agency.

“Last weekend I started cleaning out my office and getting ready. I don’t know what’s next and that’s exciting.”

Butler described retirement as a change of speed: “As business owners we are always racing. I’m not racing anymore.”

Before landing in Waseca, Butler grew up in Parkers Prairie, a rural town in central Minnesota. She attended college at the University of Minnesota where she earned her BA in English and met her husband, Al. 

“We met at a U of M singles swing dance,” Butler recalls. “We were both from the same parts of the country. He grew up about 40 miles from my hometown. We had a lot in common.”

When asked who asked whom out for the second date, Butler joked, “Well it wasn’t me. I don’t do that. We probably went out for a beer at the famous Stub and Herbs…. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Al has been gone five years now; the couple was married for 54 years. 

Butler recalls that the entrepreneur inside her got the best of her in 1973. 

“They say if you know too much about something [like starting a business] you’d never do it,” Butler jokes. “We were kind of flying by the seats of our pants in those days.”

The Butlers, after finding a building with a storefront downstairs and apartment upstairs in April, needed only a month to uproot their lives, officially opening Waseca Office and School Supply on May 4, 1973. 

“I still think about that time in my life,” Butler smiles. “We still get together with friends who came to town at the same time. Those people, the bustling community are what kept us here… We were close to family, parks, and lakes. So many great amenities and personalities. This was a great place to raise our family.”

In 1979 the family moved the business to State Street, expanding with the addition of a shoe store and gift display. 

And in 1983 life changed.

Butler says she was in the right place at the right time. 

In 1982 Archie Taxdahl, the previous State Farm Insurance agent for Waseca, was looking at retiring and wanted someone to start an office in Waseca. State Farm was looking to hire more minorities and Butler says she just happened to be the one State Farm approached. 

Initially, Butler wasn’t interested. “I was visiting my dad right after my mom died. Dad told me. ‘If I were 20 years younger, I’d sign my name on the dotted line.’

“So I told Archie, ‘I think I can do that,’ ” Butler grins. “And that’s where I parked for 39 years.” 

Although Butler said she didn’t know much about insurance at the time, she again flew by the seat of her pants, learning as she went. That same office she opened 39 years ago remains the one State Farm operates out of today. 

As things now stand,  the current office will remain open, manned by Gloria’s long tenured staff, as the agency selects another full time agent to take her place.

“Barb (Draheim) has been with me for 35 years,” Butler adds. “And Debbie (Rodriguez) for 23. With them, we’ve probably had another 10-12 people who worked with us over the years. I’m grateful for all of them.

“And my clients,” Butler continues. “They are the best people in the world. That is what I loved most about this job. Sitting down across the desk from someone, you really get to know them. We learned the importance of those relationships during the pandemic. We called people just to see if they were okay. And people just wanted to talk. Remember how we all felt back then?

“I like to say we’re in the reassurance business, not the insurance businesses, but REASSURANCE.” 

As for retirement, Butler, says she's trying for a soft landing. “I finished cleaning out my office. I’m really not sure what's next… When I look back on my life, I say, ‘What in the world were we thinking?’ But you know why you do what you do? Because you can and you will and we did.”

Butler said she plans to travel, spend time with friends, go to birthday celebrations for her 7 grandkids and 3 great-grandkids, as well as enjoy the change of speed. 

“I think the message I want to send to people is that this community is a special place. They should settle in, stay awhile, and move forward, raise a family, be involved. Follow your heart.”