Robert Butler Obituary

Former Durango resident Robert Charles Butler died of cancer Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, at his home in Fountain Hills, Ariz. He was 86.

Known as "Bob," he was born to Charles and Selma Butler on Sept. 27, 1925, in Lincoln, Neb. Mr. Butler's family moved in 1936 to Durango, where he attended elementary and junior high schools before graduating from Durango High School.

He attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., where he was part of the Army Air Corps College Training Detachment program. He went on to study at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., before earning a bachelor's degree from Western State College in Gunnison. Mr. Butler earned a master's degree in music education and administration in 1951 from the University of Notre Dame.

He served his country in World War II with the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945 and in Korea with the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1952. Mr. Butler was trained as a bombardier.

In 1948, he married Shirley Young at St. Columba Catholic Church in Durango. She preceded him in death in 1995 after 47 years of marriage.

They settled in Gallup, N.M., where they raised three children and ran a successful insurance and real estate business.

Mr. Butler was active in the Gallup community. He served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, president of the Gallup Kiwanis Club and president of the Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Association. He was district chairman of the Kit Carson Council of Boy Scouts of America and a member of the National Association of Realtors, National Independent Insurance Agents and the Sierra Club. He was chairman of the finance committee of the Diocese of Gallup for Sacred Heart Cathedral. He was bestowed the honor of Knight of St. Gregory by Pope Paul II in 1976.

After his retirement in Gallup, Mr. Butler lived at his home at Electra Lake for about 10 years before moving to Grand Junction and finally settling in Fountain Hills.

In 2000, he married Dona Tolbert in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Music was an integral part of his life. Mr. Butler sang in many choral groups and continued active participation in choral activities until the spring of 2011. Most recently, he sang with the Arizona Arts Chorale and Fountain Hills Community Chorus.

Mr. Butler is survived by his wife of 11 years, Dona Butler, of Fountain Hills; sons Dr. Robert Butler II of Phoenix and William "Bill" Butler of Gallup; daughter, Christine Frazer, of Farmington, Utah; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Ariz. Family friend the Rev. Brian Fenlon was the celebrant. Burial took place at Sunset Memorial Park in Gallup.