Stuart John BUTTS

1947 - 2024

1947-2024 "Carpe diem" was Stu Butts's guiding principle in life. He seized every day and took great pleasure in the seizing. He wasted not a moment, whether optimistically awaiting the jack of diamonds to fill his straight flush (he won at poker far more often than not) or marketing an innovative solution for a technological problem. Stu left us too soon, on September 21st, after a valiant struggle against pancreatic cancer, and left the world a better place than he found it. A lifelong Epicurean, Stu believed in living for the moment, being good company, and always showing consideration for others. His bonhomie came naturally to him. Always curious, always welcoming, always engaged, he made connections seemingly effortlessly and worked to keep the friends he made, drawing them together to sow new friendships. The "chatty lunches" he regularly organized at Sorn Thai restaurant in recent years were an eagerly anticipated occasion. Stu was kind, smart, funny, well informed, and ready to dive deeply into arcane subjects if they touched one of his interests. The motto of Stu's alma mater, Trent University, Nunc cognosco ex parte ("Now I know in part") joined Carpe diem as one of his favourites, speaking to his firm belief in lifelong curiosity and learning while remaining humble about one's knowledge. While at Trent in the late 1960s, Stu honed his leadership skills as editor of the university newspaper, president of his college council, and founder of one of Ontario's first campus pubs, then moved on to U of T law school before joining the commercial law firm, Harries Houser, where he supplemented his legal work with the instigation of lengthy and festive Friday lunches with his colleagues. Whether at work or at play, Stu was a born catalyst and innovator. He had a knack for making worthwhile things happen and for making converts of doubters. During the 1980s, acting as counsel to new enterprises piqued Stu's interest in bringing innovative ideas to fruition, and it wasn't long before he was raising capital for a number of start-ups, each of which he headed as CEO. He had a particular fondness for Enviromarine's blueprint for an outboard motor powered by compressed CO2 rather than fossil fuel. Stu was a bit too far ahead of his time with that brilliant notion, but then he hit the sweet spot with Xenos. The Xenos Group was a software company that changed how documents were distributed. Instead of printing and mailing documents, Xenos software made it possible to access and view documents online whenever needed. Under Stu's leadership, Xenos went public in 1999 and became Canada's second hottest IPO of the year, earning it an Ontario Global Trader Award for innovation. After Xenos was sold in 2010, Stu bought a hundred-acre farm and devoted himself to regenerative agriculture, immersing himself in hops culture, campaigning against glyphosates in herbicides, and advocating for local food security through networks of community farms. Soon afterwards, another world-bettering innovation lured him back to the corporate world as the Chairman of GrackleDocs, a start-up company focused on expanding the accessibility of Google documents, including for the blind. GrackleDocs, punningly named by Stu, remains a going concern. All work and no play might have made Stu a dull boy, but play he did, as befits a committed Epicurean. Stu was a stalwart member of St. Andrew's East golf club, dedicated traveller (sailing, scuba diving in the Caymans and Sri Lanka, casinos, horse-racing, chin-wagging in exotic venues), and bon vivant. His annual trip to Royal Ascot always included a stay in London, where he engaged in lively badinage in Kensington restaurants, at assorted watering holes, and on a friend's boat moored by Chelsea Embankment. Like Samuel Johnson, Stu was constitutionally incapable of being tired of London, the city of his birth. Stu is deeply missed and lovingly remembered by his wife, Patty; daughters, Kelly (Lasse) and Lindsey (Sheldon); grandchildren, Ella, Olly, Adeline, Kody, Ben and Abby; and siblings, Nick, Pam, Adrian and Carolyn. A celebration of Stu's life will be held at The Redwood Theater, 1300 Gerrard Street East, in Toronto, on Thursday, November 28th, from 6 p.m. onwards. Donations in remembrance of Stuart Butts may be made to Durham Integrated Growers (durhamdigs.ca), which supports production of and readily available access to sustainable local foods.