George William Butler

On the afternoon of April 23, 2025, George William "Bill" Butler passed away from complications of leukemia. He was born May 7, 1944, in Washington, PA, to George Ward and Hazeltine Davis Butler. He was fond of saying, "I wasn't born and raised in the South, but I got here as soon as I could." That journey began in 1962 when he was accepted into Virginia Polytechnic Institute. After receiving a B.S. in Biology, he married the love of his life, Martha "Marty" Bell in June 1966, and entered the U.S. Navy in September via Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL. Commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he served for almost 22 years, which included two deployments to Vietnam flying from aircraft carriers USS Ranger and USS America with A-6 Intruder Squadron VA-165, Whidbey Island, WA, where daughter Kelly and son Jeff were born. Back on the East Coast, he was Aide to Commander, Naval Air Test Center, Pax River, MD, and then enjoyed an exchange tour with the RAF, flying as navigator on Buccaneer SMk2-Bs from RAF Honington, UK. After returning from England, he was the Navigations/Weapons Instructor with VA-42, the East Coast Training Squadron; Operations Officer of VA-176; and Officer in Charge, Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group Atlantic, Detachment Oceana. Back aboard a carrier, he became Strike Operations Officer on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, CVN-69, home ported in Norfolk, VA. His time in the service culminated as the Carrier Battlegroup Scheduler for the Commander, U.S. Naval Air Forces, Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, VA, in August 1988. He was proud to have served his country in the Navy. After retiring as Commander and having completed a Master of Aviation Management, he trained A-6E crews in aircraft flight simulators at Ford Aerospace, NAS Oceana. In 1995, he and Marty moved to the Shenandoah Valley where he worked as a home inspector for R.J. Moore and Associates, followed by almost 12 years with the City of Waynesboro in the Building and Zoning Department. He was a member of the Virginia Building and Code Officials Association and was elected to honorary membership after retirement. For as long as he was able, he was an active member and Quartermaster of VFW Post 9292 in Elkton, VA, and has been a faithful member of Providence Baptist Church in Harrisonburg, VA, since arriving in the Valley. Bill was a kind and godly man who loved people. He enjoyed everything about trains, was skilled at woodworking, filled many hours with studying the Bible and reading, liked doing crossword puzzles, and especially enjoyed sharing stories and jokes with the family gathered around the table. He was devoted to his wife of almost 59 years, his children and their spouses, his 14 grandchildren and two spouses, and his two great-granddaughters. He requested if anyone would want to give flowers, they might instead give to The Gideons International for Bibles to be distributed throughout the world. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 3rd at Providence Baptist Church, 1441 Erickson Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Gideon's International, P.O. Box 140800, Nashville, TN 37214.