Note: The death of Robert Lee Butz on 26 Aug 2025 compared with his brother Reinholt Butz Jr's death on 5 Aug 2025 has all the earmarks of a bereavement death for Robert Lee.
Robert Lee Butz (Bob) went to be with our Lord on August 26th, 2025 - and he left with a smile. He was 85 years old.
Bob was born to Reinholt and Rachel Butz (Kissler) in their home in Snyder, Colorado on May 23, 1940 - he was the second of 4 sons. The family moved to Brush, Colorado where Bob attended school for 12 years, graduating in 1958.
Bob was an avid athlete, excelling in football, track and wrestling - setting several long-lasting state records in track and competing at the Colorado State Tournament for wrestling multiple years. Lacking basketball skills, he was a team manager for one year. This earned him the honor of being a four sport letterman. He was offered several athletic scholarships for track and wrestling but he chose to serve his country with the United States Marine Corps for a total of 10 years.
He attended Marines boot camp at MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) in San Diego, CA where Bob was trained in Radio Relay (electronics) and quickly excelled to become an MCRD Electronics Instructor. Soon after, he was sent to Okinawa, Japan to teach electronics there.
Bob served in many foreign countries including Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Korea and Vietnam. Some of Bob's duties included setting up communications between offshore Navy ships and onshore Marine posts in cities such as Chu Lai and Da Nang Vietnam.
Although he saw a lot of combat, the stories he told the most were of the children in Vietnam -- delivering food to villages and specifically, local orphanages. Bob rarely spoke of the "negative" points of war but his three Bronze Stars (with Valor) speak to his commitment and hard work during his 10-years and multiple deployments.
After his last tour to Vietnam, Bob was stationed in Dallas, TX where he worked as a Marine recruiter. He often spoke of college men enlisting in the Marines. He tried to convince some to stay in school, which got him on the wrong side of his commanding officer at times. In December of 1968 Bob decided not to re-enlist. He was honorably discharged and decorated.
During his time in the Marines, Bob became pen-pals with Donna Jean Iverson - they wrote each other for months, began dating, then on Memorial Day of 1962, they were married and moved to San Diego where Bob was stationed at MCRD. Bob and Donna had three children. Gregory Scott (1963) and Jana Lee (1965) were both born in San Diego and Robert Lane (1967) was born in Dallas TX.
Post-military, Bob worked a few short stints as an electrical engineer for Honeywell (Colorado), Schlumberger (Utah) and Texas Gulf (Wyoming). In 1978, while living in Utah, Bob found the Lord, was baptized and a couple years later, decided to become a minister, taking the family back to Colorado where he attended the Bear Valley School of Preaching.
While a student, Bob started preaching in Akron, Colorado on the weekends and upon graduation in February of 1980, moved the family to Akron to accept a full-time preaching position at the Akron Church of Christ.
Bob absolutely loved the town of Akron where he stayed and preached for the following 45 years along with his wife Donna. The Church of Christ was small, so Bob worked a few other jobs while preaching. He drove a school bus for several years, worked at the Post Office for many years and ended his working days serving Washington County as the Head of Maintenance. His hobbies included wood-working, gardening, building/restoring furniture and, of course, Bible studies.
Bob lost his life to dementia--at the end, he had forgotten more than he remembered, but in everything he lost, he AMAZINGLY never lost his ability to pray or smile, which shocked us all. He remained peaceful, pleasant, apologetic and thankful.
Bob is preceded in death by his parents Reinholt and Rachel Butz, his brothers Jack and Reinholt Jr., his daughter Jana and his daughter-in-law Cathy. He is survived by his wife Donna; his son Scott (Ana); his son Lane; and his brother Jerry. At the time of his passing, Bob and Donna had 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
For you who knew him, you know his smile, his love for people, and his commitment to God were unstoppable. He served this country as a Marine, served his family as a father/husband and served the Lord as a preacher--and did it all without a complaint. Today we grieve . . . but for him . . . we smile! He dedicated his life to God for this one moment. He will always be remembered as an amazing, loving man.
A funeral service will be held Saturday September 6, 2025 at 10 am at the Akron Church of Christ. Interment will follow at the Akron cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Akron Church of Christ.