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Jefferson County natives Joyce Greathouse and John Butera met as students at the University of Montevallo in 1972.
When John Butera and Joyce Greathouse talk about Auburn University, it’s clear just how much it means to them. Their time on the Plains gave them the academic preparation they needed to launch successful careers and build the foundation of their lives.
Now, they are giving back to ensure the next generation of Auburn students have the same opportunities.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Greathouse said. “Auburn prepared us well for careers we loved, and we are happy to give back so others can have that same opportunity.”
The couple’s story doesn’t begin in Auburn, though. It begins at the University of Montevallo in 1972. Before they transferred to Auburn, the Jefferson County natives met as students at the small liberal arts university.
Greathouse was a science lover planning to teach biology, and Butera was exploring his career options in pre-engineering. After meeting in a pre-calculus class, they went on a few dates but soon went their separate ways.
They didn’t expect to come back into each other’s lives after spending nearly two decades apart, but that is exactly what happened. It was a full circle moment for the couple. And although that circle may have started at Montevallo, both Greathouse and Butera enjoyed their own remarkable paths at Auburn University and beyond.
A career in medicine
After exploring her passion for the sciences, Greathouse’s transfer to Auburn in 1972 shifted her studies to a new field.
“I love science, but I decided that laboratory technology would perhaps be a better career choice,” Greathouse said. “I realized that Auburn had a better program with specialized courses, like hematology and immunology, beyond basic biology and chemistry.”

Joyce Greathouse started her career in medicine at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham. She is pictured here while working as a pathologist in 1989.
Auburn was a big leap from Montevallo’s campus of 2,500-some students, especially for Greathouse, whose high school graduating class in rural Corner had just 65. But the decision proved right. In 1973, after completing Auburn’s rigorous laboratory science program in just five quarters, she began working as a medical technologist at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham.
There, her professional world widened again, thanks in part to a college friend.
“She actually was the one who talked me into transferring to Auburn,” Greathouse said. “We had virtually the same career path, and she told me, ‘You need to apply to medical school.’”
That decision launched a 33-year career in pathology that took her from the UAB Heersink School of Medicine to a residency in Texas and a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, before returning to Alabama. Along the way, Greathouse ran hospital labs, analyzed surgical specimens, diagnosed cancers and infections, oversaw clinical testing, and conducted autopsies.
“It was demanding work, but it was such a rewarding career,” she said. “Auburn prepared me exceptionally well.”
Forging a path in building
After Greathouse transferred to Auburn, Butera stayed at Montevallo one more year before a friend encouraged him to transfer into Auburn’s building science program.
That’s where he found his calling.

John Butera pioneered building poured-in-place, concrete homes in Florida beach towns.
A hands-on learner, Butera thrived while learning building science and working through Auburn’s co-op program. Looking back, Butera feels that his co-op jobs were particularly important for his development.
“I’m a ‘show-me’ kind of guy,” said Butera, who grew up in Birmingham’s Ensley neighborhood. “I can’t learn from books, but if I see it, I can do it.”
In 1976, he graduated into a slumping economy with stagflation affecting the construction industry. He worked odd jobs in construction and home-building and eventually partnered with a friend building houses in Dothan.
Despite the slow times in construction, he was still able to work on some notable projects in Alabama: the Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base, Shelby Memorial Hospital, Druid City Hospital and the I-59 bridge in downtown Birmingham, to name a few.
As the economy improved, Butera used the expertise he had gained to go into business for himself, starting Butera Enterprises.
From there, his career blossomed, eventually taking him to the Gulf Coast, where he specialized in concrete construction, pioneering poured-in-place homes in Florida beach towns.
“I built the first concrete house in Carillon Beach,” Butera said. “Some people thought it was crazy until Hurricane Opal hit. After that, lots of people were asking me to build them a concrete house.”
Reconnecting and giving back
As Butera and Greathouse focused on their careers, a Montevallo Alumni Directory arrived at Butera’s door in 1991. He thumbed through it, saw Greathouse’s name and gave her a call. Nineteen years after dating at Montevallo, the two rekindled the flame, eventually marrying in 1993.
They navigated a long-distance marriage for a decade until Greathouse was able to find pathology work closer to Butera in Florida, first in Dothan and then at Bay Medical Center and Gulf Coast Medical Center.
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Request InformationThe couple have since retired, but their successful careers allowed them to invest in homes that Butera built in both Panama City Beach and Big Sky, Montana, where they now split their time between the mountains and the beach.
But their greatest investment has been in others, most notably students at both Auburn and Montevallo.
Through their estate plan, Butera and Greathouse are creating scholarships that support students demonstrating financial need in building science, pre-health and laboratory science.
“Not every student comes from privilege,” Butera said. “I know what it’s like to struggle. The co-op program in building science gave me a real leg up in life.”
Together, they hope their philanthropy will help students gain not just an Auburn education, but fulfilling, meaningful careers like their own.
“Auburn changed our lives,” Greathouse said. “We learned so much at Auburn and owe a lot to the university. Now, we want to help Auburn change other people’s lives.”
Learn more about estate and planned gifts at auburngiving.org/estate or by emailing plannedgiving@auburn.edu or calling 334-844-7375.