Butler, Stuart, 1931-2006

Born in Middleboro, Massachusetts in 1931, Stuart Butler moved to Versailles, Kentucky in 1958, where he spent the rest of his life. Although he was employed as an engineer by Texas Instruments until 1991, Butler was also an avid caver and environmental activist. As a member of a local caving "grotto," Butler led countless trips into caves across Kentucky, including a number of exploratory expeditions for state and local governments, aimed at a better understanding of the region's karst landscape and its impact on issues such as flooding. Butler was also active in a number of regional environmental organizations, including the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Buckley Hills Audubon Society, and served on a number of citizens' advisory councils, such as the one for Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, in Lexington, Kentucky. Butler also served as Woodford County's director of disaster emergency services from 1967 to 1997. Butler died of cancer in 2006, at the age of 75.