René Butler

A celebration of the life of Rene Butler

Anyone who knew Rene knew he was a man of few words.

Anyone who knew him well would know that he would like us to keep this as brief as possible.

And although he was a man of few words, those words were always wise, comforting and reassuring.

He was like an encyclopedia to his kids; whenever they needed an answer to something they just asked Dad or Grandpa.

He always helped those that needed it... animal, human.... or even insects and reptiles....

He would stop and save a turtle from certain death by taking it off the road... spiders were escorted outside....no stray kid or animal in our neighbourhood would go without a place to stay or a meal....

He thought it best that we leave the world a better place than when we found it...

Every community that he lived in was better for it as he devoted many hundreds of hours to community service, as a Boy Scout Leader, driving seniors and Children's Aid children to Drs. appts. As well as delivering Meals-on-Wheels to seniors in our area. He was a Chartered member of the Martintown Optimist Club and was instrumental in building the Martintown Library. He made as many as seven trips with a full van to the Williamstown Fair with tables and books for Onagh's Book Nook. He spent many hours building additional space at Onagh's to accommodate all her donated books, which raise monies for many local charities. Even though he couldn't draw a straight line and had to make many, many adjustments to his cuts of wood, his motto was "if at first you don't succeed try, try again".

He took every opportunity presented to learn something...
He said if you can't say something nice don't say anything...
His love of family was his guiding force..
He was a great cook, gardener and teacher. Trying to teach anything from tennis, to golf and chess (as many of us will remember) and he never showed frustration at our attempts to improve.

Even back at Radio College when he was first married, he would bring groups of co-students home and he would help them to understand things as they gathered around the kitchen table in his small apartment in Toronto.

Upon graduation he joined the Dept. of Transport as a Radio Operator in Broadview Sask., then Churchill Man., then Kenora Ont. He found shift work was not what he wanted when Jean and he had four children to raise. So off he went to Resolute Bay for a year, to study and hoping to advance his career. Although he was Coroner, Justice of the Peace as well as Officer in charge of the Station, he found time to study. While at Resolute Bay he developed a curling rink in one of the hangers. Even though they had to wear their artic gear to play, they enjoyed the recreation.

Getting a day job and moving to a bigger city brought the family back to Ottawa where he edited and wrote Department of Transport Technical Instruction Manuals, as he was so precise to detail.

His next career move was becoming a Technician, then Instructor, which brought him to Cornwall to the Transport Canada’s Training Institute, where recreational activities included joining the Cornwall Curling Club.

He retired to Martintown and tremendously enjoyed 18 years of retirement life with winters in Florida to get away from the snow.

His working with Dept. of Transport was a great joy to him.

It was interesting to see how many of his colleagues from Transport came to pay their respects even though he had been retired and out of contact with them for many years.