Lois Butler

Lois Butler (born Lois Reid 3 November 1897 – 17 August 1970) was an Olympic skier, aviator and one of the early members of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA).

Early life Lois Reid was born on 3 November 1897 in Montreal, Quebec, to Minnie (née Cormack) (d. 1949) and Sir William Duff Reid (1866–1924). She was their only daughter and had four brothers. Her father owned railways in Canada and was president of the Reid Newfoundland Co. Ltd.

Reid was educated at Abbots Langley School in Britain and returned to Canada in 1913 to attend Havergal College in Toronto.

Flying and the ATA Together the Butlers set a world record for two-seater light planes, of 119.77 m.p.h. in 1928.

After the war the family moved to Salisbury, (now Harare) in what was then called Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). They bought tobacco farms near Bulawayo, but the couple later returned to Studham Hall, in Bedfordshire, leaving their son, David, to run the business.

Butler died of a heart attack, in Piraeus, Greece, on 17 August 1970. She was buried in St Mary's Church, Studham, in Bedfordshire.