Ward Butler, age 88, of Huron, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on Sunday, February 3, 2019.
His funeral mass of Christian burial was celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 7, at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Huron. Military honors were conducted by the Huron Veteran's Council at the service. Burial was in the St. Martin's Catholic Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed to the Huron Regional Medical Center Hospice.
Ward was born on March 24, 1930, in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, to Patrick Henry and Leta (Smith) Butler. In 1938, the family moved from Tulsa where his father worked for the British American Oil Company to an 80-acre farm near Fort Dodge, Iowa, where Ward's father was born and his grandparents lived.
He graduated in 1948 from Fort Dodge Senior High and then served three years in the Air Force during the Korean War. After receiving an honorable discharge, Ward enrolled at South Dakota State University in Brookings. He graduated on May 23, 1955, with a degree in agricultural economics. He married Jackie Berg on July 29, 1955, at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Wabasso, Minnesota.They were married for 63 years and had four children.
Ward then began a 30-year career with the Farmers Home Administration in South Dakota. He did his training in De Smet and worked in Lake Andes, Plankinton, Brookings and the state office in Huron, where the family moved in 1970.
In 1985, he retired as the multi-housing coordinator for the FHA and started Ward Butler Appraisals Inc., which he operated with Jackie until they retired in 2001.
While living in Huron, Ward did volunteer work for the Center for Independence, which helps the developmentally disabled work and live in the community. He served on the Huron Area Center for Independence Board for 28 years and on the Center for Independence Foundation Board for 14 years. Ward also was a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors and the longtime president of the Governing Board of Directors.
In 2000, the Center named a new client home in Huron the Butler House in recognition of his many contributions. Ward also is past president of the Huron Area Senior Center Board of Directors and the Greater Huron Development Corp., a former member of the Huron Area Chamber of Commerce Board and a member of the American Legion, which included a year as Legion commander in Plankinton.
Survivors include his wife, Jackie; sons, Pat of Rapid City, Mike of Sioux Falls, and Steve (Tina) of Huron; daughter, Lisa Isaacson of Sioux Falls; grandchildren, Jordan Butler, Tanner Butler, Alex Butler, Katie Butler, Sean Butler, Kelsey Kidd, Kourtney Isaacson and Grace Isaacson, who along with Dalton Kidd will serve as pallbearers; and six great-grandchildren; and a great-grandson who is on the way.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Pat; a grandson, Andrew Isaacson; and his father- and mother-in-law, Leonard and Helen Berg.