MANALAPAN,
NJ – December 29, 2014 – Wilmer T. “Bill” Butler, a longtime horseman and
former Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey director,
passed away on Saturday, December 27, 2014 at his home on the family farm in
the Franklin Township community of Asbury, NJ.
Butler was 88.
Funeral services will
be held Saturday, January 3, 2015 at 11 a.m. at the Devlin Funeral Home, 695
Corliss Avenue, Phillipsburg, NJ. Visitation will be held Friday, January
2, 2015 from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to time of services in the
funeral home. Burial will be in Bloomsbury Cemetery in Greenwich Township.
“He
had been in failing health of late but still his ebullient self,” said his
daughter Bonnie Butler, mayor of Franklin Township.
Bill
Butler served in the Navy during World War II, competed on the rodeo circuit
and managed his father’s auto agency on Staten Island before he entered the
standardbred industry through another Staten Island native, Hall of Famer
Anthony Abbatiello.
“I
knew Bill Butler since I was 16 years old,” said SBOANJ President Tom
Luchento. “He was the nicest, funniest and hardest working guy. He
was a horseman through and through. He surely will be missed. My
heart goes out to his family.”
Butler
began driving and training horses in 1962. Butler’s Mountainview Farm was
purchased by his father in 1946 as a weekend retreat.
Among
the top horses campaigned by Butler were Straight A by Dale Frost and Butler’s
Burner by Oil Burner.
“Dad
served on the SBOA Board for about eight years, beginning in the late 1960's
and then later in the late 1970's into the 1990's - about 25 years total,” said
Bonnie Butler. “He originally got involved to insure that the horseman
had a strong voice and was one of the key people involved in the implementation
of the Health Insurance/Pension program.”
He is survived by two
sons Kenneth Scarr and former driver-trainer, Robert Scarr; daughter, former
driver-trainer, Dr. Bonnie Butler; grandchildren, Stream and his wife, Jackie
and Sonia; and a great-granddaughter, Mia. His beloved wife of more than 50
years, the former Patricia Duff, passed away June 20, 2005.
In lieu of flowers
memorials may be made to Standardbred Retirement Foundation by visiting www.adoptahorse.org or Franklin
Township Fire Co, PO Box 43, Broadway, NJ 08808.
