James Douglas Butler, 70, Lexington Park

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Born Feb. 3, 1938, in Laurinburg, N.C., he was the son of the late James Walter Butler and Winell Miller Butler.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1955 and served aboard the USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise as a parachute rigger. He then became an anti-submarine warfare operator and flew as aircrew in P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion aircraft. He flew as aircrew from Bermuda Island, Brunswick, Maine; Sigonella, Sicily, Jacksonville, Fla.; and Patuxent River. He retired from the Navy in 1978 and worked as a defense and government contractor. As a senior technical training instructor, he taught courses in electronics, radar, communications and computers. He served as contractor to the Navy at Webster Field, the U.S. State Department at Warrenton Station and the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C.

He was a member of the Fleet Reserve #93, Patuxent River, the National Rifle Association and the American Legion Post #255 in Ridge.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra Kay Butler; his children, Matthew Butler of Lexington Park, Steven Butler of California, Scott Keller of Naples, Fla., Kelly Keller of California, Christine Maher of Irvine, Calif., and James Butler of Herndon, Va.; and six grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Shelby Jean Batton of Laurinburg.

The family will receive friends for a life celebration today, May 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Brinsfield Life Celebration Chapel in Leonardtown, where prayers will be recited at 7 p.m. A funeral service will be conducted May 8 at 2 p.m. at Church of the Ascension in Lexington Park, with the Rev. Robert Stephenson and the Rev. Rona Harding officiating. Interment will follow at Trinity Episcopal Cemetery in St. Mary’s City.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice House of St. Mary’s, c⁄o Hospice of St. Mary’s, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650; or A Community That Shares (ACTS), P.O. Box 54, Bushwood, MD 20618.