Paul Bascomb Butler, Jr

Paul Bascomb Butler, Jr., devoted husband, father, grandfather, attorney, minister, mentor, and servant leader, passed away peacefully from pancreatic cancer on April 15, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He was 78.

Born on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1947, in Charleston, South Carolina, Paul was the son of the late Paul Bascomb Butler, Sr., and Mary Anna Tisdale Butler – two amazing parents and grandparents who simply adored their only child. He was raised with a deep sense of faith, purpose, and responsibility to others—qualities that would shape the whole of his life.

Paul attended Avondale High School in Decatur, GA and Winter Park High School in Winter Park, FL, graduating in 1965, then attended Emory University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1969 and was Senior Class President - and involved in championing civil rights. He went on to complete both a Master of Divinity at Emory University School of Theology in 1972 and a Juris Doctor at Emory University School of Law in 1976. Those two callings—ministry and law—would remain intertwined throughout his life, and they made him a rare kind of leader: one who combined conviction with compassion, wisdom with grace, and professional success with a genuine concern for people.

Paul excelled in the law, but he never saw it as only a profession. He saw it as a way to serve. In 1979, he founded the law firm that would become Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig LLP in Tampa, Florida, building not only a large, respected national law firm but also a unique familial culture shaped by integrity, service, fairness, and high standards. Paul became widely known as a distinguished trial lawyer and earned a national reputation in property insurance law. Over the course of his career, he served in numerous leadership roles in the American Bar Association (where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014), the Defense Research Institute, and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. Those who worked with him knew that he was often the person entrusted to lead when the work was difficult, the questions were complicated, and steady judgment was required.

But to describe Paul only by his professional accomplishments would miss what made him so exceptional.

Before beginning his legal career, Paul was ordained as a Methodist minister, and that calling never left him. It lived in the way he listened, the way he counseled, the way he encouraged, and the way he made people feel seen. He led with compassion, saw the good in people, and was always ready to extend help to those who needed it. He returned to formal ministry in later years and served in many leadership roles in local congregations, as well as through his position as Chancellor of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church - but in truth, he had been ministering to people all along—in courtrooms, in conference rooms, in churches, in friendships, and in quiet moments when someone needed wisdom, honesty, or hope.

Paul was, in the truest sense, a servant leader. He had a rare ability to challenge and inspire at the same time. He asked hard questions. He did not avoid difficult truths. He brought clarity when others were uncertain, courage when others were hesitant, and grace when others needed it most. He lived his life purposefully.

Paul’s life of service reached far beyond the law and the organized church. He cared deeply about people who were struggling, especially those facing difficult times. He championed those in need, and refused to look away from human suffering. Alongside his beloved wife, Ginah, he made repeated trips to South Africa and served a primary leadership role in supporting the work of The Manaleni Achievement Centre (the “MAC”), serving children and orphans in need with food, clothing, life skills, spiritual counseling, and community. Paul and Ginah also founded the EACH Initiative in North Carolina, where they focused on ending child homelessness, as well as quietly sponsoring homeless families in North Carolina, Florida, and beyond. Paul did not simply speak about compassion; he practiced it.

For all he accomplished publicly, Paul’s deepest pride and joy were found in his family. He enjoyed nothing more than spending quality time with his best friend, his life partner, and his devoted wife of 57 years, Virginia “Ginah” Eldridge Butler. Truly, the totality of Paul’s impact and accolades—career and otherwise—was achieved in partnership with Ginah. Together, they built a beautiful life grounded in faith, love, service, and steadfast companionship. They especially cherished time traveling together, taking long walks side by side, and retreating to their mountain home in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, where they found rest, renewal, and some of their happiest moments hosting friends and spending quality time with Ginah’s twin sister, Dorrie Williams. Through the years, Paul and Ginah’s marriage was a quiet but powerful testament to devotion, shared purpose, friendship, and enduring love.

Paul was a loving and devoted father to his sons and their wives, Jeff (Jen) and Rob (Lan), and took profound pride in the people they became. He shaped their lives not only through what he taught, but through how he lived - modeling faith, integrity, and a deep sense of responsibility to others. Jeff and Rob grew up enjoying many special times and memories with their Dad – playing sports, attending Atlanta Braves baseball games, going on road trips, traveling around the world, and playing countless rounds of golf at Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club.

As “Pops” to his beloved grandchildren - Jack, Jordan, Grant, and James - he found exceptional joy in the special role he played in their lives. One of his greatest pleasures was the annual week-long “Camp Maggie” he and Ginah hosted at their home in North Carolina, where they shared countless adventures - building forts in the woods, making crafts, camping out in their camper “Dutchy,” watching out for bears, and visiting amusement parks. He also took immense pride in showing up for his grandchildren - attending their baseball, soccer, lacrosse, football, tennis, and other sporting events. Whether in the stands cheering them on or simply spending time together, he treasured those moments deeply. Pops will be missed.

Beyond career and family, Paul also enjoyed the richness of life in ways both grand and simple. He loved golf, was an excellent tennis player, enjoyed nice cars, collected baseball cards as a kid, was an avid world traveler, and had a collector’s eye for fine watches and craftsmanship. He valued excellence, beauty, discipline, and detail.

To those who knew him well, Paul’s legacy is not simply that he was successful, though he was; or that he was admired, though he was. It is that he changed lives. He built, mentored, encouraged, led, gave, and served. He made people better. He made institutions stronger. He made burdens lighter. He made faith more visible by the way he lived.

His absence will be deeply felt by his family, by the firm he founded, by the church communities he served, by the countless colleagues and friends he mentored, and by the many people—known and unknown to one another—whose lives are better because they knew Paul Butler.

Despite all the accolades, Paul would want people to know that, above all else, he was simply a child of God. The foundation of Paul’s life of impact and service was a commitment to follow the example and teachings of Jesus - quite simply: to love your neighbor, to care for the poor, to provide healing to the sick, and to free the oppressed. Paul taught and advocated, at every opportunity, for the church to be “known more for what it is for, not for what it is against,” and for followers of Christ to make compassion for others their primary focus.

After receiving his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in June 2025, Paul faced the final nine months of his life with a sense of renewed peace and purpose. He used his remaining time, right up until the very end, to continue caring for and ministering to others. He saw this as an opportunity to share with others the power of faith, and he ended every update that he sent about his condition with these same words: “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, 500 W. Platt Street, Tampa, Florida, with a reception to follow. Business casual attire.

As a way to honor Paul, we invite you to consider giving your time, resources, or support to a local homeless shelter, to a family in need, or to The Manaleni Achievement Centre in South Africa https://manaleni.org