Obituaries

Patrick Butler passed away peacefully on October 15, surrounded by his loving wife and children. Patrick was born in San Francisco where he spent the first 5 years of his life. His family then moved to Lake County, California, where he grew up. He attended local schools in Lakeport and graduated from Clear Lake Union High in 1946. After high school he enlisted in the Army and spent two years as a para-trooper with the 11th Airborne Division, 187th Glider Infantry Regiment, based in Japan (nicknamed the “Rakkasans”). After the Army, he enrolled at Modesto Junior College. After two years he transferred to San Jose State University where he earned his BA in Business Administration in 1953 and his MA in Business Education in 1955. While at SJSU, he was an active member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. It was at SJSU that he met his beautiful wife, Patricia. After graduating, they moved to Fremont and Patrick accepted a teaching position with the Hayward Unified School District. He taught at Mount Eden high school for 30 years and retired in 1986.

Patrick had a brilliant sense of humor and a keen ability to make those around him feel comfortable and welcome. He listened intently and always gave great advice. If ever in Patrick’s presence you would almost certainly know that you had made a new friend.

He is survived by Patricia, his wife of 57 years, his children Chris (Felicia) of Anaheim Hills, Scott (Kirstine) of Lafayette, Shawn (Rachel) of South Lake Tahoe, Georgeann (Russ) of San Jose and Shannon (Todd) of Gilroy. He had the good fortune of having had 9 grandchildren – Mitchell, Brent, Mickena, Zachary, Claire, Sterling, Nathan, Emma and Alek. Patrick is also survived by his sisters Sally Aslan of Austin, TX, Shirley Main of Fresno and his brother Michael of Santa Rosa. His family would like to thank the staff at the Menlo Park VA for their excellent care and support over the years. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

Patrick was passionate about snow skiing in his teens and had the very fortunate opportunity to rekindle that passion in more recent years with the Disabled Sports Program at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. In lieu of flowers or gifts, you may wish to donate to this very important program that provides services to a variety of populations, including disabled veterans and recent wounded warriors.

Please go to www.dsusafw.org and click “Donate Now” and select Disabled Veteran programs and/or other programs as you wish. Please include “In Honor of Patrick Butler” in the information box. If you wish to send a check: Disabled Sports USA Far West, PO Box 8339,Truckee, CA 96162.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2pm at Fremont Memorial Chapel, 3723 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536. A reception will follow the memorial. Details and location will be provided to guests.