Robert Ormanzo Butler

Robert Ormanzo Butler

(1930-2017)

Robert Ormanzo Butler (Bob) died at his home in Mukilteo, Washington State, on July 27, 2017, at the age of 87. His wife, Lorna, survives him. He was born May 31, 1930, in Albert Lea, Minnesota to Ella Mae (Gullickson) and Ormanzo ('Summy') Butler. Ella Mae Gullickson was a school teacher in Worth County. She and Ormanzo Butler were married in 1918, and farmed next door to where Ella Mae was born. The Butlers purchased the Gilbert Gullickson farm in in 1937, and farmed there until Ormanzo's death in 1951.

Bob was his parents' only child. Bob's maternal grandmother (Anna Peterson) came from Voss, Norway at the age of 14 (1894). She came alone, joining her two brothers who were in business in the Northwood area.

Bob was an Iowa farm boy. He grew up helping with the milking, feeding dairy cows, pigs and chickens, selling apples from the family orchard, and occasionally, helping with household chores. He walked about a mile to a one-room country school in Grove Township, which he attended for eight years. One of Bob's jobs was to carry water to the school from a neighboring farm. At age 15, Bob took over the family farm following his father's injury. During the same year, Bob contacted polio, and was treated at the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Institute in Minneapolis. A year later, he finished high school in Northwood, Iowa.

Bob began his university education in 1949 at St Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. After one year, he returned to the family farm due to the illness, and subsequent death, of his father. Bob continued farming until 1957.

In an old 4H record book from Bob's teenage years there was a note where Bob described having gone to a meeting of 4Hers on the ISU campus. There he heard a speaker talk about international work. In the book he had written a note, "I want to do that someday."

Following the death of his mother in 1956, Bob enrolled in Iowa State University. After his third term, he went to Panama as an International Farm Youth Exchange (IFYE) student, working on six different fincas. This was the beginning of a long international career, and a lifetime of global interests. Bob lived for over 10 years of his career in Panama, Malawi, Lesotho, Jordan and Egypt, as well as visiting other countries. His career focused on improving the quality of life for rural people in the US and abroad. He did this through programs in agriculture education, strengthening research capacities, and by training trainers in farming systems research methods.

Bob completed his BS in Agriculture, Soils and Rural Sociology at Iowa State University in 1961, after which he worked for Iowa State University Extension (1961-65) in Mason City, Iowa. The friendships he made with Cerro Gordo County young people remained with him over the years. Later he completed his masters and doctorate degrees at Colorado State University. In 1966 Bob moved to Lagos, Nigeria to work with the Colorado State University team in the Consortium for Nigerian Rural Development. Among his greatest joys was his travel throughout Nigeria, and his friendships with Nigerian traders and artists – many of whom he welcomed to his home.

Bob returned to Colorado State University in 1968 to complete his PhD. Here he met his future wife, Lorna Michael. They married on October 25, 1968, at the home of Jim and Evie Kincaid. In 1970, Bob and Lorna moved to Pullman, Washington, where he joined Washington State University as the director of an extension nutrition program that benefited families in low- income Washington communities.

Bob and Lorna relocated to Malawi in 1973, where Bob headed up the Department of Rural Development at Bunda College of Agriculture near Lilongwe. He taught rural development and sociology to diploma and degree level agriculture students, many of which became lifelong friends.

In 1975 Bob returned to Washington State University as Chair of the King County Extension Office in downtown Seattle. He was responsible for many different educational programs -- energy conservation, nutrition, a volunteer program that trained volunteers to teach urban gardening, and horticulture. In 1979 Bob and Lorna moved back to Africa, this time to Maseru, Lesotho. He was the leader of new Washington State University effort that focused on research carried out by farmers on their own farms. He often traveled by Land Rover and small plane to remote areas in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.

Bob returned to Washington State University in Pullman in 1982. He held several different administrative positions, including the coordinator of the Jordan Valley Research Project. In 1989 he moved to Amman, Jordan as a member of the WSU team. He lived there until 1991, then returned to Seattle as WSU's director of extension for western Washington. Bob retired from Washington State University in December 1998.

Bob moved to Ames, Iowa, in 2000 when Lorna took a position at Iowa State University. During their seven years in Iowa, Bob reconnected with friends and family of his earlier years, and he made new friends. He became interested in the state Democratic Party, and the local chapter of the United Nations Association. His love of good food and great people propelled him in to the kitchen where he served as 'chef de cuisine' for many gatherings and dinners at home.

Following Lorna's retirement in 2007, Bob and Lorna moved to North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Here he took a great interest in developing a native plant woodland garden. He loved plants, artistic and whimsical garden features, and his pets. Bob made friends easily, and over the 10 years in this beautiful location, enjoyed many get-togethers with friends and family members. In the fall of 2016, Bob and Lorna returned to Mukilteo (north of Seattle) in Washington State.

Bob had a keen interest in the African arts perhaps starting in the 1960's while living and traveling in Nigeria. His interest in African art, and in the artists themselves, continued throughout his lifetime. He enjoyed his art collection in his home until his death.

An informal celebration of Bob's life was held in his home on July 29, 2017. Interment of his ashes will occur in a few months in his family plot in Sunset Rest Cemetery, Northwood, Iowa. Memorials may be made in Bob's name to either the Graduate Student Travel Award for International Study in Sustainable Livelihoods, Iowa State University Foundation (http:/www.foundation.iastate.edu/s463/giving/start.aspx); or to Partners in Health (https:/donate.pih.org/give-today).