Obituary of Robert Butler

Robert M, Butler, 99, passed away peacefully on September 23, 2011 from complications following a stroke. He was born in Strickland Ferry, Maine and attended Livermore Falls High School where he excelled in track, cross country and baseball. He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1934, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in French. While at Bates he earned varsity letters in track and cross-country and was considered one of Bates' better runners, often competing in the New England Championships in Boston, Mass. Following graduation he did graduate work in Education at Harvard University. In December 1936 he married Priscilla Vinal Smith whom he had met at Pickford Camps in Rangely, Maine. They set up housekeeping in Dixfield, Maine, where both taught in the Dixfield public schools. They moved to Syracuse, New York where he taught at Pebble Hill, a private secondary school. In 1943, they moved to Millburn, New Jersey where he taught Latin and algebra at Newark Academy in Newark, New Jersey. From the mid 1940s to the early 1950s he was a senior counselor at Camp Timanous in Raymond, Maine. Newark Academy was founded in 1774 and continues to be a premier private secondary school. He became Assistant Headmaster, and was appointed as Headmaster in 1956. During his tenure as Headmaster he presided over the relocation of the school from Newark to Livingston, New Jersey, including the construction of a new building and campus, and its conversion from an all male to a co-educational institution. He supervised the closing of the primary school program and the formation of the Mothers Association, now the Parents Association, which has been a major positive force ever since. Having revitalized and resettled the school, he relinquished his Headmaster's duties in 1967 and returned to teaching. He retired in 1974. While in New Jersey he was very active in Rotary and the Boy Scouts. He received the Silver Beaver award for his service to the Boy Scouts. He leaves behind his son and daughter. two grandsons: Robert M Butler and his wife Darcy Curtis Butler of State College, Pennsylvania and Jonathan W Butler and his wife Kristin Reichow Butler of Pleasant Hill, California, and four great grandsons: Tommy and Tynan Butler of State College and Lincoln and Morgan Butler of Pleasant Hill. He will be laid to rest beside his wife Priscilla in Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree. Massachusetts on October 15, 2011. A private graveside service for family will be held at that time.