Dr. Robert Willis "Bob" Butman

Dr. Robert (Bob) Willis Butman was born in Syracuse, New York to Reverend Frederick Henry Butman, and his wife Eunice. His older siblings were Avis Farber, Carol Root, and Donald Butman.

He was an undergraduate at Syracuse University where he met and married his wife, Jean. Upon completing their degrees, Bob and Jean moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin their graduate studies at the University of Michigan. Bob completed his Master of Arts in Sociology in 1957 and received his Ph.D. in Education from there in 1969. He also served in the Army National Guard in the late 1950s.

Upon completing their Doctorates, Bob, Jean, and their three daughters moved to Oregon where Jean had been offered a research position at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland. They bought a small farm in the Dundee Hills. Bob tended the farm which included a large menagerie of animals: horses, a cow, chickens, a goose, dogs, and cats. He planted evergreen trees on a portion of the property, harvested hay, raised pigs, and, later, grew wine grapes. Bob's other occupation was Education. Bob served as a Sociology Instructor for Chemeketa Community College. He also drove school buses and was a substitute teacher in Yamhill County and the surrounding area.

Music was an integral part of Bob's life. He played the violin early on and taught himself to play the banjo when his daughters were young. Every Friday the family had a "hootenanny", singing folk songs with the girls dancing on end tables and with their mom. When they retired, Bob and Jean spent two years with the Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands after which they relocated to Vermont. While living in Vermont, Bob joined the Curbstone Chorus, a barbershop quartet choir, performing at venues around southeast Vermont.

Bob also loved to play bridge, Euchre, dominoes, Yahtzee, and The Farming Game. His fierce competitive nature translated to game playing and even to Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with his grandchildren. After Bob's wife entered memory care, he regularly played bridge in a bridge club at the McMinnville Senior Center. Bob was an avid sports fan and followed many sports and teams, always coaching from the couch. He loved to golf and fish, including ice fishing. He taught his daughters how to play sports and always attended their sporting events.

It is always difficult to say goodbye to someone we love and cherish. Robert Willis Butman of McMinnville, Oregon died December 31, 2025, at the age of 93. He was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Jean Helen (Woodward) Butman who died in 2019; his parents; his sisters and his brother. He is survived by his children, Laurel Butman, Cynthia Robertson, and Karina Kingman and also by his many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.