BILLY BUTLER

BUTLER, BILLY Oct. 17, 1935 to Nov. 2, 2010 Billy Butler, born in Dardanelle, Ark., possessed a fondness for bluegrass, a taste for venison, a voice for karaoke and a talent for telling the ribald joke. He passed with loved ones and at peace after a prolonged illness in La Mesa, Calif. Billy served a tour in the U.S. Air Force after high school, then entered the private sector to work on various electronics projects abroad. A man of the world - he said he was in Vietnam before the U.S. entered Vietnam - Billy plied his engineering talents in Trinidad, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain. In the mid-60s, his love of country returned him to government service, where he served with distinction for the U.S. Army Communications Command - Pacific (Okinawa). He earned a bachelor's of science cum laude from the University of Maryland in 1975 and a master's in public affairs from Indiana University in 1977. Billy topped off his exemplary federal career as an information systems chief at NATO's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, between 1993 and 2000, when he retired. As a hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman, Billy was a lifetime member of the National Geographic Society. He is survived by his wife, Betty of Alpine, Calif.; three sons, David, Christopher and Michael; and three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Sharp Lakeview Home, 9472 Loren Dr., La Mesa, Calif., 91942.

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