August 11, 2023
In loving memory ~
It is with sadness that we announce the sudden but peaceful passing of our Dad, Adrian Roderick Butler, on August 11th, 2023 at the age of 94, in Cranbrook, B.C.
"Rod," as he was affectionately known, was born in 1929, grew up on Barnston Island, B.C., then lived in Vancouver and Burnaby. He started his long teaching career in Richmond, then moved to Penticton, where he taught art and music at Carmi Elementary, then McNicoll Park Junior Secondary, from 1956 to 1986. Hundreds of students were infected with his love of painting, pottery, choir, annuals, and musicals. For many of those years, he also played the organ and led junior and senior choirs at St. Saviours Anglican Church.
When he retired from teaching, Rod and his wife Joan retired to the Comox Valley. A few years after Joan's passing in 2010, Rod moved to Cranbrook to be close to family there and in Calgary. During his retirement, he took great pride in the work he did to trace and document the Butler family tree back almost to the 1500s, and to uncover unknown branches of the family in England, Australia, and Tasmania.
Rod was a prolific and talented painter and potter — his many works grace the walls and coffee tables of family and friends — and he was working on a musical based on the Hunchback of Notre Dame when he passed. He also authored "Island Sojourn," a collection of short stories describing his life growing up on Barnston Island.
Over the last 10 years, Rod made many friends in Cranbrook, but he always took time to stay connected with friends and family across Canada and around the world.
Rod was predeceased by his wife Joan Butler (née Merrix), and leaves behind two sons Dave and Bruce, brother Lance, nieces and nephews Diane, Nancy, Sandra, Randy, Jeff, Dawne, Nancy, and Chris, grandchildren Courtney and Christy, great-grandchildren Mason, Peyton, and Audrina, and many great-nieces and nephews (including his "birthday buddy" River). He also leaves behind four very special women whom he considered daughters - Heather, Edie, Lorna, and Lori.
Rod was a consummate gentleman and will be missed by all.