Robert Easton Button

ROBERT EASTON BUTTON, 93, of Old Greenwich, CT, passed away on Saturday, August 9, 2008, with his wife Decima of 62 years at his side. He was the son of John Conyers Button and Olive Lyle Demarest of Englewood, NJ. Bob was an insightful, caring, and motivational leader, with a proclivity for poetry, humor and irony. He was devoted to human values, social responsibility and thoughtful expression. Bob Button began his career in communications, music and writing at Dartmouth College (Class of '36), where he was a member of the Casque and Gauntlet Honor Society. He went to work for NBC and obtained a law degree in 1939. He was a military intelligence officer in WWII and served on General Bradley's G-2 staff and General Eisenhower's Special Forces staff in Europe. He emerged from the military as a Colonel, having earned 2 Bronze Stars and 6 Battle Stars; and he was one of the first Americans to work on the Enigma code-breaking project at Bletchley Park, England. After the war he returned to NBC where he pioneered the early programming and sales of television. In 1954 he left NBC to join the Defense Office of Special Operations and later served as Director of the Voice of America. He was a USIS Foreign Service Officer in NATO-Paris (1958-64), Executive consultant at COMSAT Corp (1965-1973), and Satellite Director at Teleprompter Corp. (1973-1975). He was cofounder and President of TransCommunications, Inc. in Greenwich (1975-1993) where he cofounded Cablevision of Connecticut. His memberships included the Lions, Masons, Reserve Officers Association, American Legion, University Club, Old Greenwich Yacht Club, High Arctic Explorers Club, Broadcast Pioneers, and Playmakers of Connecticut. He led a 17 piece swing band, known throughout the area as the Bob Button Orchestra, and he directed a 24 voice retired men's chorus (The Melody Men) and a ladies sextet (Button and Bows, and the Decibelles). In 1999, he was named Community Leader of the Year in Greenwich. A founding trustee of the American College of Paris, he taught continuing education courses at Columbia University, U Conn, and U Virginia. He was a regular contributor to the Op-Ed pages of the Greenwich Time, and in 2004 he published his memoir Enigma in Many Keys, for which he received the Mark Twain Award from the Connecticut Press Club (2006). Bob also received the SE CT Volunteer Organization "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2007. Bob Button is survived by his English wife, Decima; his daughters Marilyn Button and Phyllis Whitten and her husband Richard; and five grandchildren: Diana, Christina, and Carolyn Whitten, and Alec and Brett Phillips. He is predeceased by his brothers, John and Donald, his sister Anne, and his daughter Allyson Button Phillips A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 16 at 11 AM at the First Congregational Church of Old Greenwich, CT, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Bletchley Park Foundation at www.bletchleypark.org.uk, Women with a Vision/PCA, 4011 South Harrison St, Ft Wayne, Indiana 46807, or The Nathaniel Witherell, 70 Parsonage Road, Greenwich CT 06830. On-line condolences or remembrances may be made at www.griecofuneralhomes.com or wispje@yahoo.com