12 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

Although we knew the end was coming for Butch, it was still a gut-wrenching shock to hear a couple of hours ago that he passed about 8 PM last night. I'll post some rememberances of him in a day or so, once I have time to think about what I want to say.

 

RIP, Butch. I'm sure gonna miss our frequent conversations.

[Bill from NH]

My condolences to his family and friends. He was a good friend of mine for years and I intended to call him later this week.

 

Butch, you will be missed, but you won't be suffering any longer.

[Slot_it_Bob]

I first met Butch thru this forum we quickly became friends thru slot cars and aviation.

 

Being local to Butch I got to enjoy the last two tracks he built. Everyone was always welcome to come up and run on the track. The only thing Butch loved more than flying or racing was Ohio State football. He never missed a game on TV.

 

I’ll sure miss our weekly conversations.

Rest in peace, Butch.

[Sloter]

RIP.

[Tex]

RIP, Butch... youll be missed. Save us a spot at the control panel up there...

[Mike Patterson]

I knew he wasn't well, but I didn't think he was that ill.

 

Rest in peace.

[Jay Guard]

Butch was a good friend and a very competitive racer. I stayed overnight in his beautiful slot car track room a time or two either before or after a run to the Indy 500 and/or the R4. He had a fantastic wit and I will miss him and our conversations.  

 

Race on, Butch, on that slot car track in the beyond.

[Cheater]

Butch joined Slotblog in Feb 2006, just a few months after it went online. So he's been here a good while. He also attended the first R4 race at Tom Thumb in 2008. He soon discovered that racing at the big Retro races was a bit too serious for him; he just wanted to have fun and ultimately got more into 1/32 racing, where having fun is the primary goal.

I doubt many here know that Butch was an accomplished pilot, and for many years flew his iconic Pitts Special biplane in aerobatic competitions. He was a slot car raceway owner once or maybe even twice, an accomplished inventor, and a master woodworker, as anyone who owns one of the few slot car tracks he built would testify. And, as Jay posted, he had a terrific sense of humor.

But what impressed me most about Butch was how gracefully he dealt with the mesothelioma diagnosis he received roughly a year ago; there is no cure for that awful disease. Butch just took it in stride and afterwards I never heard any signs of depression or anger during our frequent phone coversations. "Nobody lives forever," he told me. We spoke for over an hour a week before he passed and and usual, he was excited about Ohio State's prospects this year and showed no signs of his dire situation.

My deepest condolences to his lovely wife Aubrey on her loss.

 

I am going to miss him terribly. RIP, my friend.



Butch hated having his picture taken, but I was able to cut this out of a candid shot from the R4/1 race in 2008.

[Fred Herzog]

I spoke with Butch on the phone Saturday, Dec. 6, from his hospital room. He seemed to be in good spirits and was wanting to get out of there and go home. He mentioned hospice care and he said he knows it's hard to find the words... I got the feeling that he knew time was getting short. I told him to let me know when he got home. The following Tuesday evening, he sent me a message that simply said, “I'm home.” I responded asking him how he was feeling and got no reply.

 

Yesterday, Aubrey messaged me with news of his passing.

 

Praying for Aubrey and the family.

 

I started racing with Butch at The Raceway on Rt 27 in McGonigle. I learned a lot about slot cars from Butch, he always had some words of wisdom, “Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?... Practice, practice, practice!”

I know everyone has enjoyed racing on his custom built tracks and will continue to do so.

 

We will all miss him.

[JerseyJohn]

So sorry to hear. I met Butch at the very first R4 I went to. Great guy.

 

RIP, Butch. Say hello to Noose and Tony P for me.

[slotcarone]

May Butch rest in peace.

[Steve Deiters]

Shocked. Had no idea he was ill.

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

I talked to Butch about 5 days before he passed. We agreed to talk again in about a week. I guess I will need to wait now to have that conversation. When we first met we butted heads pretty hard. It was just a misunderstanding on both sides. Nobody could stay mad at Butch for long. He was a great friend and I will greatly miss him.