Obituary of William Ernest Butler

William E. Butler, 66 year resident of Shelton, Washington, committed husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather passed peacefully into Heaven and the presence of his Savior Jesus Christ, with his three daughters at his side on January 16, 2014. Bill, as he was known to all, was the first of four children born to Earnest and Bertha (Haines) Butler on December 30, 1921, in Snohomish, Washington. Growing up in Western Washington from Monroe and Snohomish south to Hood Canal and Shelton with his brother Jack and sisters Susan and Barbara, our father attended area schools until enlisting in the United States Army Air Forces on 23 Sept. 1940. He served his country with the 4th Combat Cargo Group in ground support of C-46 aircraft which flew over the China-India-Burma (CBI Theater Of War) Hump. While there he was awarded the American Defense Service Medal, The Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with 3 battle stars, Good Conduct Medal with Clasp as well as achieving the rank of Sargeant. With the close of World War II, Sargeant Butler was Honorably Discharged from his military commitment on 23 October 1945. In 1941 while stationed at Kirtland Field, Albuquerque, N.M., he met and fell in love with Grace Evelyn Mickey, taking her as his bride on Christmas Eve 1941. Together they had a long and fulfilling marriage of 63 yrs., 9 months until she went home to Heaven September 6, 2004. In 1947 Bill, with his wife Gracie, their daughter Cheryl age 4 and their one year old son David returned to his NW family roots. Moving them from LaJunta, Colorado to Shelton he then began a long, successful and satisfying 32 year career with Simpson Timber Company working as a Dozer Operator out of Camp Govey in the SE Olympic National Forest. It was said by many of his co-workers as well as the boss(s) “When it comes to running those Caterpillar D-8s and International TD-24s, they just don’t get any better than old Butler. He’s the best”. Bill came to faith in Jesus Christ in 1949 under the preaching of the Rev. J.O. Bovee, then Pastor of Shelton First Baptist Church. From that moment on, one of his life long goals was to see to it that his family had every opportunity to come under the sound of the Saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to have eternal life. He was often heard to say, “I’m headed to Heaven and I’m going to do every thing possible to make certain that my family comes with me”. Over the years as a member of First Baptist Church, he faithfully served as usher, Sunday school teacher, numerous terms as a Deacon, and you could always spot him sitting 4 rows from the front, left center aisle with his wife, three girls and son to his right. When Shelton First Baptist Church felt God’s leading to plant and grow a daughter church in the rural areas surrounding Shelton, Bill and Grace were part of the team that birthed a Sunday School in the Agate Grange Hall, helping to nurture that fledgling ministry into a self-sustaining church. Bill had a love for the great out of doors. One of his avocations was backpacking, mountain climbing, hiking, fishing the mountain streams or lakes and tent camping with his family. Many a early Saturday morning you could see Bill out on Isabella Lake in the family row boat trolling for whatever might bite. He loved relaxing beside a bonfire, whether it was at camp along the trails of the Olympic National Park or on the patio at their Isabella Lake place. If he had a mug of hot coffee in his hand and his family around him, he was truly in his element. On the subject of traveling, Bill never did much and never wanted to. As the four kids tell it, when he was asked why he never did any traveling like other retired people do, he would invariably answer, “What for? I’ve got it all right here. And besides, I never lost anything over there”. Truly he was a man of great personal satisfaction and contentment. Another avocation/hobby of his was the construction of model airplanes powered by gas motors. Then on warm summer Sunday afternoons along with his best friend Lowell Hart, he would launch them into free flight. When the plane disappeared Bill would then be seen piling one or more of his children into the 1949 Nash family car to give chase to that plane’s landing where ever that may be or crashed, as the case was most of the time. Sure enough more times than not he’d find it smashed to pieces in the limbs of a tree. But rather than gripe, grumble and complain about another plane down the toilet, you’d see that characteristic wide Bill Butler smile break out all over his face, while fetching that crippled craft and laughing the entire time. He would then take it home, disappear into his hobby nook in the basement of our home, work on putting it back together only to do it all over again time after time. Another one of the loves of his life that consumed many, many hours and of which he was a true artist was putting his hand to landscaping and rockwork sculptures on Mom and Dad’s beautiful home at 304 W. Isabella Loop Dr. William Ernest Butler, age 92, leaves behind a great legacy of life supplemented with his 4 children, their spouses, 12 grand children and 18 greats, all of whom proclaim that “Dad, Grandpa and Great Grandpa is truly a great, godly and honorable man full of honesty, integrity and truth”. On Saturday, March 8 the family will host a Memorial Celebration with refreshments and fellowship beginning at 1:00 pm followed by a program honoring Bill’s life at 2:00 pm in the family center of Shelton First Baptist Church, 5th and Cota Streets. A private graveside gathering will follow at the Shelton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Bill Butler’s name, earmarked for the Awana Clubs ministry at Shelton First Baptist Church.