Henry M. Butler, III

A memorial service for Henry “H.M.” Butler, 86, of Monroe, will be held at 3:00 PM Saturday, September 1, 2018, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe, with Rev. Job Edathinatt officiating. Visitation will be from 2:00 PM until service time at the funeral home.

H.M. was born on December 11, 1931, in Mobile, AL, and passed away on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

After his mother, Blossom Butler was widowed when he was just a year old, H.M. moved briefly to Ruston and later Monroe, LA. He graduated from Neville High School (1950), where he proudly was captain of the football team. He studied briefly at Southwestern LA and LSU on football scholarships but ultimately was accepted by the US Air Force as an Aviation Cadet in navigation school. In the Korean War, he flew cargo to Japan, returning home with the remains of men killed in combat. In 1956, he was transferred to Bermuda to be a member of the “Hurricane Hunter” Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, flying into the eye of a hurricane over 100 times (intentionally). H.M. earned a BS in electrical engineering at the University of Oklahoma (1963) and was then assigned to Patrick AFB in Florida as a plans officer in the Missile Test Center, navigating astronaut-recovery flights for NASA and reconnaissance flights for classified military missile test launches. In Florida, he earned a Master in R&D Management from Florida State University (1966). He was then transferred to Air Force Space and Missile Command in Los Angeles, doing advanced planning first for the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and then finally for the NASA Space Shuttle. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, he was assigned to Thule AFB in Greenland as Commander of a highly classified military satellite tracking station. He returned to Los Angeles to continue his work on the Space Shuttle and retired from the Air Force in 1974 as a LTCOL, specializing in navigation and aerospace engineering, with citations, badges and wings for outstanding crew support and navigation and medals for duty in both Korean and Vietnam Wars. After military retirement, he worked at Rockwell International as Director of Aerospace Marketing (Space Shuttle and National Aero Space Plane). He retired from Rockwell in 1991 and went on to earn a BA in Education at California State University Dominguez Hills (1995). After 40 years of marriage, he divorced his wife Sharon Butler and moved back to Monroe, LA.

H.M. devoted himself throughout his life to community service, volunteering at a very, very long list of worthy organizations, including: the LA Maritime Institute to help inner-city kids learn discipline and cooperation through sailing (a life-long passion), Habitat for Humanity (building 20+ homes), Laubac Literacy Training (teaching adults to read), St Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, Camp Quality (a summer camp for children with cancer), and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused children. His most proud work, however, was with Pilots for Patients, providing air transport for needy medical patients, where he was on the Board of Directors.

Survivors include his four children: Deanne Johnson (Houston, TX), Scott Butler (NY, NY), Eric Butler (London, UK), and Erin Larkin (Temecula, CA); his five grandchildren: Sonia Johnson, Keith Johnson, Kylie Larkin, Sarah Larkin, and Emma Larkin; and his special friend, Carolyn Whitfield.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the very special nurses and CNAs who took loving care of him at the end.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Northeast LA Food Bank.

Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com
Mulhearn Funeral Home
Sterlington Road
Monroe, LA