Obituary of Robert & Jean Butler

There will be a celebration at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John NB (634-7424) between 10-12 on July 14, 2012 of the lives of the late Jean E. (Rinehart) Butler who passed away on July 17, 2011, in Halifax and her husband the late Robert G. Butler who passed away on March 20, 2012, in Halifax. Internment in Fernhill Cemetery will follow the celebration. Services for Jean and Bob were previously held in Halifax. Copies of their obituaries can be retrieved from www.brenansfh.com or www.inmemoriam.ca. Robert Gordon Butler, 83, passed away March 20 at his residence in Halifax, NS. Born in St. Thomas, ON, he was the son of the late Gordon and Dorothy (Fuller) Butler. He grew up in Saint John, NB and attended Saint John High where he met his future wife, Jean. He received a BA from Sir George Williams University in Montreal in 1953, where he played and coached basketball. He then returned to Saint John to marry Jean and work for theYMCA. Bob continued his work with the Y for brief stints in Souix Lookout and Etobicoke ON before moving to Dartmouth, NS in 1959 to help start the Dartmouth YM-YWCA. He left the Y in 1968 to become the Executive Assistant to the President of Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB. In 1972 he and his family returned to Saint John where he was employed as a Training and Human Resource Officer with the Post Office until his retirement in 1984. Throughout his life, and especially after his retirement, he was involved with many volunteer agencies and service organizations including Kiwanas, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Legion Wheelchair Van Driver, Tonsillairs and Offtones singing groups, Read Saint John, and the Seniors Resource Centre. He produced and hosted "Seniors on the Go" a cable TV show in Saint John for 8 years. In his retirement he also took up folk painting, self published four books of humorous anecdotes, and had a talent for writing poems for special occasions. He was a NB Senior Ambassador for 8 years and edited another self published book with contributions from other ambassadors. During the last few years of their life, he and Jean moved to Halifax to be closer to their children. He was predeceased by his wife Jean (Rinehart) and sister Doreen (Plummer). He is survived by his children Gordon (Joanne Gusella), Linda (Michael Bird), Beverley (Patrick Gleeson) and Lauren (Brian Cox); grandchildren Paul and Mitchell Butler, Letitia, Ellen and Malcolm Bird, Kathleen and Matthew Gleeson, Jenny Sears, great-grand children Brandon and MacKenzie; and his sister Marilyn (Jack Logan). Bob was affectionately cared for by the staff at Drummond Hall/Parkland who provided compassion and comfort to both him and Jean over the last several years. BUTLER (RINEHART), JEAN ELEANOR - 81, passed away July 17, 2011 at her residence in Halifax. Born in Saint John, NB, she was the daughter of the late William ("Harry") and Ida (Cox) Rinehart. She is survived by her husband, Robert (Bob) Butler; children, Gordon (Joanne Gusella), Linda (Michael Bird), Beverley (Patrick Gleeson), and Lauren (Brian Cox); grandchildren, Paul and Mitchell Butler, Letitia, Ellen and Malcolm Bird, Kathleen and Matthew Gleeson, Jenny Sears; great-grandchildren, Brandon and MacKenzie; and her brothers, Donald, Gordon and Robert ("Bobby"). She was predeceased by her sister, Helen (Morrison) and a brother, George ("Buddy"). She graduated from Saint John High School and attended Business College. She enjoyed working as a secretary for the NB Department of Public Works and the Royal Trust before marrying Bob and starting a family, to which she was very devoted. She and her growing family lived in Sioux Lookout and Etobicoke, ON for a brief time before settling in Dartmouth where they stayed for 8 years. They then moved to Sackville, NB for 4 years before returning to Saint John, where they lived for most all of the past 40 years, only recently moving to Halifax to be nearer to their children. Jean made many lifelong friends wherever she lived, often through her keen interest and skill in playing bridge. She was also the guardian of many prized family recipes and she enjoyed challenging herself with crossword puzzles.