Matthew John Butts M.D.

Matthew John Butts, M.D.
November 7, 2022
Brookings, Oregon - Matthew John Butts, M.D., age 41, passed away on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 in Brookings, Oregon. He was born April 7, 1981, in Yakima, to John Butts and Kathleen (St. Mary) Lewis. As a child he attended St. Joseph/Marquette and later was a 1999 graduate of West Valley High School. He attended Whitman College where he played on the soccer team and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2003 with a degree in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology. He attended Creighton Medical School in Omaha, Nebraska graduating in 2008. During medical school he spent time in Kolkata, India, working in a hospice center for Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity. He also volunteered with several community service projects, such as the Magis Clinic, a free homeless clinic in Omaha, and Hurricane Katrina cleanup in Covington, La. After medical school, he spent a year teaching Biochemistry and Physiology at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wa. He was then accepted to the residency program in Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. His first job as a physician was at Rochester Family Medical Clinic. In the following years Matthew worked as a Primary Care Physician at the Yerington Paiute Tribe Clinic in Yerington, Nevada and United Indian Health Service in Crescent City, California and finally at Sacramento County Sexual Health Clinic in Sacramento California, where he helped HIV/AIDS patients. Matthew was a brilliant physician, beloved by his patients and was known for his uncanny diagnosis ability. He was an avid Cougar, Seahawk and Mariners fan. Matthew's greatest joy was his children Lucas, age 6, Adelaide, age 5, and Eliana, age 3. His favorite thing in the world was to come home after a long day, play with and read stories to his children. He is preceded in death by his step-father Richard Lewis, and grandparents Harvey Butts, Marjorie (Ring) Butts, and James St. Mary. He is survived by his father John and stepmother Barb of Kennewick, WA., his mother Kathy (Doug Knox) of Selah, WA., a sister, Nicole (Paul Cummins) and a brother, Timothy (Sydney Boyle) stepsisters Dani (Frank Connor) Lindsay (Andy Johnston) and his children Lucas, Adelaide and Eliana; grandmother Shirley (Gamache) St. Mary; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
A celebration of Matt's life will be in Moxee, WA, and burial at Holy Rosary Cemetery.