Terry Butler

Terry Floyd Butler was born on July 11, 1955.

He was born to the parents of Frank Eugene Butler and Lennis Elaine Nelson Butler in Caribou Maine at the Loring Air Force Base Hospital.

He lived in Maine with his parents till his Father was released form his service in the Airforce. Then they came home to a house in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Later they moved to Ammon. Terry was a good baby, “not too bad to be raised, didn’t fuss much” Frank said. He was a curious child, as he like to reach up with his little fingers and if he could feel something close to the edge, he would drag it off on the floor. So, the parents had to plan for things like that.

He was the oldest grandchild of George (Anthony) Butler and Eloise (Hazel Eloise Park) Butler and the 1st Grandchild of Floyd and Lena Nelson, his maternal grandparents.
They loved him so much. He was especially close to his Grandpa Nelson and went fishing and hunting and liked to help him a lot.

His parents loved him and tried to help him along life’s path and teach him things they thought he should know. It wasn’t hard to see, who was the favorite child, for he was the only one. (no siblings)

He was a polite and courteous boy and remained so all his life. He knew respect, manners, and social niceties, and would not call his Aunts and Uncles by their first names only, but always addressed them by that title before each one’s name. It was heartwarming and always a tender thing for him to do in all the family.

Ella babysat Terry when they lived in Ammon. She said it was always fun at their house. No matter what they did it always ended up in a water fight, inside the house or out! Always funny and lots of fun!

When Terry was about 4 years old, he moved with his parents to Medicine Lodge. They lived on the Garret Ranch in the Upper Medicine Lodge where his father Frank worked doing Farm and Ranch work for the Garret and Thomas families. Terry played and worked with Willa and George (The Garret Children) and they were best of friends. It was said of the group “If one was in trouble, they were all three in trouble”. It was during this time that Mr. Garret taught Terry and the others how to drive a Jeep. It was an old army style Willy Jeep, stick shift, but they were a capable crew. Terry and the kids would drive that Jeep up the field where Frank and the other men were “putting up the hay” to take them drinks and snacks every day. Sometimes they drove to a field close to the house, and sometimes it would be up to a mile away. Frank was very proud of him for this feat.

Terry liked the horses and had a little stick horse he rode everywhere. Eventually he graduated to real horses and was given the task of “breaking-out” some ponies for the ranch. He would ride them a lot. He enjoyed helping on the ranch.

In the summers, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron would come to visit. Once Uncle Ron came to stay for a month. Terry got on a Big old horse named Rock, and Ron got on a pony. They were supposed to help move cows. They had ridden quite a way, when Mr. Garret saw them riding down the road, and said “Terry, you need to trade him horses, he’s a little big for that pony”. Terry’s reply was “I’m not supposed to let him ride Rock, ‘cause he’ll run away with him!” But they traded horses anyway and Terry rode the pony back, but he wasn’t happy about it. His parent’s instructions were “if Mr. Garret gives you orders, you do what he tells you, or you don’t go with him anymore”. Terry was an obedient child.

Branding Time was another fun thing for the kids to do. They loved to jump on the back of the calves after they were branded (as they were getting up) and see how far they could ride before being bucked off. Usually it was only a minute, but fun all the same!

Terry learned to fish at an early age and was an excellent fisherman. He was allowed to fish everywhere except Mr. Garrett’s personal fishing hole. He enjoyed the great outdoors and that hobby, and skill, stuck with him all his life. Often in life he would talk with his friends about the middle creek and about the fishing on the Garret ranch, about how he would go fishing when ever they wanted fresh fish. It was one of his favorite memories.

Terry had eye problems and at age 5 before he started to school, he got glasses. Without his glasses, everything looked longwise or horizontal instead of upright or vertical like fence posts and trees, they all lay on the ground.

They moved to the lower Medicine Lodge when Terry started School where Frank worked for the Woodfield’s. Terry didn’t get to help on the ranch as much then, only feeding cows and other chores on the weekend, as he was attending school during the week. He usually fell asleep on the bus ride home, as “the corner grocery store was about 35 miles away”. (It’s a long drive.) Terry was a good student and got good grades. Once when Aunt Jo came to visit, she remarked that he had a little horn, perhaps a trumpet, and he played it very well.
When Terry was a freshman, his mother decided he should go to a Formal School Dance. Aunt Debbie was about his age, and so she had Terry take one of Aunt Debbie’s friends, and Aunt Debbie went with Terry’s friend. It turned out fine. Terry was a polite, a quiet young man, with a soft little laugh. He was well mannered, happy, and kind to people.

Terry had many friends. He was well liked and made friends where ever he went. There was a group of friends that had birthday’s in July, so they decided they would get together to celebrate! They went to Wolverine, set up a food buffet, and a keg, then they would sit around and eat and gab. It often turned into a two-day event. They did this for 15 years and in the end, when they finally quit, over 300 people were attending their “Birthday Celebration”.
Family and Friends were important to Terry. Always there, quietly in the background, he attended many family reunions. He helped with Dutch Oven cooking, visited with loved ones, and taught the kids how to pan for gold at the last family reunion in Spencer.

Terry loved his dogs. He’d had a several over his life time. He took good care of his dogs and enjoyed their company. Once Terry and his friend Guy were camping on Lava Creek. He had a Big old St. Bernard and a Rottweiler. They had cooked their supper and had just settled down for the night, when the dogs started to growl and run away from the camp, then back and forth, and finally they came and stood beside them back in the camp, growling all the while. Then they calmed down and went to sleep. They figured they had a bear, so they felt lucky to have the Dogs with them that night!

Terry was always willing to help. He helped a lot of people. He worked a lot of jobs. Sometimes he worked for people and sometimes he just helped them out. He worked for the county, the canal company, as a carpenter, in construction, farm and ranch work, body and fender, and several other jobs. Sometimes he did odd jobs for different individuals. Once Terry went to Aunt Ella’s to help Guy fix the well. Ella heard a loud explosion and ran to the window just in time to see a 55-gallon barrel flying over her chicken coup and straw was raining down everywhere. Terry was doubled over laughing. Ella said, “What’s the matter?” Terry said “Dynamite. Packed it with straw. Blew all over.” And he laughed some more. They did get the well fixed.

Terry could sharpen Scissors. He sharpened Ella’s pruning shears so well, they remained sharp still. He was a handyman, a master fixer. He kept pride in his tools and took care of them, they were his pride and joy. A few months ago, Ella asked him to sharpen her scissors again. He kept them for a few weeks, then brought them back and said he was too blind to sharpen them anymore.

His final employer had nothing but good to say about him, commenting, “He was a good man”. Terry was feeding in the day and lambing in the night. One day he didn’t show up, so the man got worried and went to check on him. He was asleep. He said, “I’ve been going day and night for a week and a half, I got to get some sleep now”. That’s dedication.
Terry was a private person. He liked to be out of the public eye. He made his own way. His choices were his own and he made them like that. He never had a place to call his own. He loved to roam. He drove here and there. He lived here and there. His life was the Lifestyle he chose- It may not be good for us- but it made him happy.

He worked on farms and ranches. His favorite hobbies were rock hounding and fishing. He loved the outdoors.

He is survived by his son, Jason (Amy) Martin, daughter, Jennifer (David) Yanez, father, Frank (Louyne) Butler, and 12 grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Lennis.

Terry Floyd Butler passed quietly away on January 25th, 2019 in the EIRMC Hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho from cancer, with his family by his side.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 1, 2019 at the Goshen Ward Chapel, 792 N 1090 E, Shelley. The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 6:00 till 7:30 p.m. at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 W Oak Street, Shelley and Friday morning from 9:30 till 10:40 at the church. Burial will be in the Goshen Cemetery.