Burtis Otto Butler, age 75, passed away at home in Prosser on May 13, 2013, after a long battle
with Alzheimer’s.
He was born in Pasco, Washington to Wesley and Cleo Butler and was raised and educated in Prosser. Burtis was a long time Boy Scout and became an Eagle Scout and enjoyed boxing. He graduated from Prosser High School in 1957. Burtis served in the U.S. Army for 18 months during the Berlin Crisis, where he received a good conduct medal and award for marksmanship and traveled all over Europe before returning home to help out his mother with the Butler Ranch. On November 11, 1966 he married his longtime friend Charlette Loretta Madison, who had always lived right across the road from him. They had two daughters and two grandchildren.
He lived in Prosser and worked at the Prosser Post Office, drove bus for the Prosser
School District then went out to the farm and worked in his garden or split wood to keep
the fires burning at the farm and his home in town. Burtis retired from the Post Office in 2002
and shortly after was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Burtis was a very active member of the Prosser Gun Club and the NRA. He enjoyed
gardening as a hobby, and each year his garden grew and grew in size as well as his fruit and
vegetables. He loved his friends and enjoyed sharing the food from his garden given with a big smile.
Survivors include his wife Charlette Butler of Prosser; two daughters, Debra Morris
of Prosser and KarenTrupp of Wenatchee; and two grandchildren, Fallon Disselbrett
and Camron Trupp both of Prosser; brother, Wesley Lamoine Butler of Deer Park and his extended family the Madison’s; Stanley, Joe and Millie; and cousin, Bruce Butler and his wife, Nora and their two children, Chester and Keith. Burtis was preceded in death by his father, Wesley Butler; his mother, Cleo (Butler) Randall; his sister, Alta May Schlosser; and his brothers, Chester, Warren, Homer Leroy, Othel Rodell (Dell), Alton Wilbur and Rolland Franklin Butler.
Graveside services with Full Military Honors will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 17, 2013 at the Prosser Cemetery. Relatives and friends are welcome at Prosser Funeral Home on Thursday, May 16th from 3:00-7:00 p.m. Memorial contributions are welcome to the Alzheimer’s Association or Lower Valley Hospice.
Special Thanks to our letter carrier, Dale Wharton; our wonderful brother-in-law, Mathew Lyczewski; Pastor Ryan Oswalt and his wife, Kristal; our neighbor and friend, Nolena Tibbett; Ralph Oldfield, you are a great barber and kind gentleman; and the Lower Valley Hospice Team (We love you Shelly and little Debbie). The one I want to thank the most is my daughter, Debra, without you I would have never made it. Our lives have had its ups and downs, but from this day forward all is forgiven and may God Bless the rest of our lives together.