Rev. Dr. Vern W. "Pat" Butler

CASSOPOLIS, Mich. The Rev. Dr. Vern W. "Pat" Butler, 82, of Shavehead Lake, passed away at 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, in Doctors Lake Health Care, Orange Park, Fla., after an extended illness. He was born in Chicago, Ill., May 27, 1926, to the Rev. Dr. Vernon Butler and Ruth (Hulse) Butler, and moved to the Cassopolis, Mich., area permanently in 1991, after vacationing here for many years. He married the former Marguerite Ellis on Jan. 29, 1947, in Fort Edward, N.Y., and she survives. Also surviving are two children, Ellis Butler and his wife, Sheryl, of Cassopolis, Mich., and Dr. M. Kathleen Ebener of Orange Park, Fla.; three grandchildren: Dr. Robert Ebener and his wife, Laura, Emily Pryor and her husband, Will, and Steven Butler; and also four great-grandchildren. The Rev. Butler was preceded in death by his parents, a grandson and by his brother and sister. The Rev. Butler was a member of the Wabash Presbytery of Indiana. He was a graduate of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and received his doctorate degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. He had served congregations as the pastor in Universal, Pa., Park Forest, Ill., Monmouth, Ill., and Hamburg, N.Y., and had served as the interim pastor for churches in Elkhart, Ind., Niles, Mich., and most recently in 1997, for Westminster Presbyterian Church, South Bend. The Rev. Butler served his country as a submariner during World War II, serving in the Pacific Theater. A funeral service for the Rev. Butler was held at 11 a.m. on Monday, July 14, 2008, in the United Presbyterian Church, Cassopolis. Officiating were the Rev. Allan L. Widerquist, retired pastor, and the Rev. Stephen Kazar, pastor of the church. Interment was at Plum Grove Cemetery, Union, Mich., where military honors were rendered by members of William E. Lozier VFW Post No. 10704 and by Efton James American Legion Post No. 206, both of Cassopolis. Calling hours were held from 6 to 8 p.m. July 13, at the funeral home. Memorials in the Rev. Butler's name may be made to the United Presbyterian Church, Cassopolis.