Robert Bruce Butler

Robert Bruce Butler slipped peacefully into eternity on August 24, 2021, after an 8 year long battle with cancer. During his life and especially during his battle with cancer he exemplified many of the qualities of our Savior, Jesus Christ, including faith, perseverance, long-suffering, hope, charity, kindness, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience.

Robert was born on August 29, 1946, the second of 8 children to Scott Merrill and Ida Maria Koski Butler, in Shelley, Idaho. During his formative years he spent lots of time outdoors. He and his rough and tumble brothers and sisters helped their mother and father learn many of those same Christlike qualities, such as patience. While the Butler children in Woodville were known for their many escapades growing up, they were also known for their hard work and generosity, which was one of the family legacies passed down from their parents, to the children and grandchildren.

Until Robert was about five years old the family lived in a small home in Shelley, after which they moved to Woodville where he spent the rest of his younger years. Much time was spent swimming in the Snake River, working in the garden, attending to the chores that come with chickens, pigs, a milk cow and horses and working for local farmers moving sprinkler pipe, hauling hay, etc. Attending schools in Shelley, Robert graduated from Shelley High School and seminary in 1964.

After his growing-up years, Robert attended Ricks College, graduating with an Associates Degree. It was here that he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He then served a mission to the Great Lakes Mission, spending time in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio helping others come to know their Savior.

Having completed his missionary service, Robert went to school at Brigham Young University in Provo, where he completed a degree in Civil Engineering. While at BYU he also joined the Army ROTC and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant upon graduation. He served full-time in the Army Corps of Engineers for 5 months and then in the Idaho Army National Guard. He returned to Shelley, Idaho where he worked for Benton Engineering. At this time he met and married his eternal sweetheart, Linda Stucki. They purchased a piece of property in Shelley, Idaho and began working to build their home and family.

Robert and Linda Butler worked hard to teach and raise their 10 children, helping them learn the qualities of faith and hard work. If Robert wasn’t busy with his engineering work, he was busy designing and building his house, working on the property or on one of his hobby farms, or spending time camping, hunting and fishing with his family. All of his children helped with the land surveys he did for his engineering business. They also remember working, pulling weeds in the very large (at one point, 3 acre) family garden.

Robert’s professional career was spent at Benton Engineering, as county engineer in Bingham County for 12 years, two and a half years at the INL, and then at Butler Engineering and Land Surveying for 23 years. In 2015 he retired and merged his engineering firm with Harper Leavitt Engineering, having worked on many road and bridge projects, subdivisions, and water and sewer systems, among other things. His true love professionally was designing bridges. He completed well over 200 bridges throughout his career. This includes bridge jobs that he helped with in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, California, and Arizona. He was well-known for his expertise and ingenuity in this area, earning international recognition.

After retiring, he and his sweetheart were able to complete two missions together. They spent two years in El Paso, Texas serving as military relations missionaries. During this time, they spent lots of time volunteering with the Red Cross and at the USO. They also worked with the families of military members that had been deployed, teaching them resiliency classes. Their second mission was in the family history library in Salt Lake City, where they worked in Library Services on the international floor and were able to help many people from around the world find the records to research their genealogy.

Robert was a genuinely kind man. He spent much time serving and helping others and was always willing to give what he could to help those he knew, especially his family. This included welcoming even more children into his home, heart, and family. These children include Matthias Meyer and family of Germany, Chi Qing Long (Jimmy) of China, Kwon Byong Su (Bryan) of Korea, Sabrina Hahn of Germany, Fabienne Blum of Germany, Adrian DeSmet of Belgium, Dani Lapi of Finland and Rob Lang and family of Idaho Falls. His service also included much time serving while a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He served as Scoutmaster, Ward and Stake Clerk, in the Elders Quorum, Sunday School, Primary, and as Bishop.

Robert is preceded in death by his parents, Scott Merrill and Ida Maria Koski Butler, his brothers, Gale Merrill Butler, Vearl Donald Butler, Allan Brian Butler, and Andrew William Butler and brothers-in-law, Kirk Hyndman and Ronald Dees. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Linda Stucki Butler, his children, Susan (Paul) Jones and Benjamin (Shanna) Butler of Spring, Texas, Rachel (Linden) Nielsen and Joseph (Suzanne) Butler of Shelley, Idaho, Edwin (Jennifer) Butler of Lander, Wyoming, Leonora (Kevin) Saunders of Johnstown, Colorado, Richard (Jessica) Butler of Buxton, Oregon, Maria (Josh) Burnside of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Daniel (Rebecca) Butler and David (Meghan) Butler of Taylorsville, Utah, his sisters Kathleen Dees, Beverly Hyndman, and Pamela (Scott) Stone, 35 grandchildren, and many in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Services will be in the Woodville Chapel under the direction of Bishop Wally Arave in the Shelley 10th Ward on Saturday, August 28, 2021 at 11 AM. You may watch the funeral service broadcast live by going to the following link https://sites.google.com/view/shelleystake/sacrament and selecting the Woodville Building.The family will meet with friends for the viewing on Friday, August 27 from 6 to 7:30 at the Woodville Chapel, 1555 N. 700 E., Shelley, Idaho and again on Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:40. Interment will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery with military rights by David B. Bleak Post 93.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the engineering scholarship fund at Brigham Young University at https://donate.churchofjesuschrist.org/donations/byu/engineering/civil-environmental-engineering.html After clicking on the link please scroll down and click on the box “in memory / in honor of” and type his name.











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