David Elliot Butler – VTDigger

Birth Aug. 6, 1960

Berlin, Vermont

Death Oct. 28, 2024

Johnson, Vermont

Details of service

A memorial service will be held on Dec 21, 2024, at Lamoille Valley Church of the Nazarene in Johnson, VT.  The service will begin at 10 a.m.

Raised in Berlin, VT, David graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in forestry. David was known for his work in the maple sugar industry, his love of the woods, training retrievers and helping others to learn how to work their dogs. 

He was the President of the Lake Champlain Retriever Club. As an American Kennel Club Retriever Hunt Test judge, he was known all over New England. His passion was training retrievers and also encouraging and instructing their owners. He was a Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife Hunter safety instructor as well as a member of the planning board of Johnson. 

Best of all, he will be remembered for his ready smile, grand story telling and indefatigable optimism, particularly in the last couple of years as he courageously battled cancer.

He died at home, near his woods. In addition to his three siblings, Bruce Butler, Mary Asper, Raechel Patch, and their children, he is survived by two daughters, Kathryn and Rebecca. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the David Butler Memorial Fund to help with their education.  Donations should be sent to 23 Foothills Dr, Jericho, VT  05465.