Robert I. Butler, 88, of rural Arrowsmith, IL, passed away at 8:11 a.m. Tuesday (Dec. 2, 2014) at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal.
His funeral will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Wesbein United Methodist Church, Saybrook, IL. The Rev. Guy Keysear will officiate. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Saybrook, with military rites accorded. Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Illinois Holstein Association or Wesbein United Methodist Church, Saybrook. Calvert-Belangee-Bruce Funeral Home, Saybrook, is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Butler was born Nov. 16, 1926, in Saybrook, to W.O. and Floy I. Ellis Butler. He married Marilyn Jones on Oct. 17, 1945, in Saybrook.
Survivors include his wife of 66 years, Marilyn; four children, daughter, Roberta Oberpriller, Barnum, Minn.; sons, Gary (Amy) Butler, Chenoa, and David (Karen) Butler, Arrowsmith; and daughter, Diane (Scott) Shasteen, Topeka, Ill.; one sister, Nina Arbogast, Grand Junction, Colo.; 11 grandchildren, Darin (Jennifer) Butler, Sycamore; Christine (Jason) O’Connor, Kankakee; Dan (Ashley) Butler, Chenoa; Jayme (Clint) Johnson, Heyworth; Jereme Oberpriller, Superior, Wis.; Brian Butler, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Justin (Nicole) Powell, Tremont; Kim (Craig) Talbot, Barnum, Minn.; Jackie (Bill) Jansen, Damiansville; Brandon Zeman, Marion; and Sarah Butler, Arrowsmith; 14 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; five brothers, Yale, Rex, Gene, Leon and Ralph Butler; one sister, Dorothy; and great-granddaughter, Keira Johnson.
Robert graduated from Saybrook High School in 1944. He was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and served during World War II from 1945 to 1946.
After the Army, Robert returned to Saybrook and began farming. A dairy farmer, he founded Bluff-Ridge Holsteins in 1962. Many of his Holstein cattle won state and national awards.
Robert was active in the Illinois Holstein Association, serving as president and on the board of directors for a number of years. He was also a more than 50-year member of Holstein-Friesian Association of America and Heart of Illinois Holstein Club. He served as dairy superintendent for the McLean County Fair and enjoyed judging dairy cattle shows.
Robert was active in the Saybrook-Arrowsmith communities, serving as a member and president of the Saybrook-Arrowsmith school board for 12 years. He was a member of David Humphrey Daniel American Legion Post 427, Saybrook, and Wesbein United Methodist Church, Saybrook.
