Harold Butler

Harold Sims (Hal) Butler, 79, died November 9, 2010 in Fort Collins, CO. He was born September 14, 1931 in Ardmore, Oklahoma to Fred and Stella Sims Butler. He married Marjorie Flo Brown on June 20, 1954 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They had met during their undergraduate years. They recently celebrated 56 years of marriage. Dr. Butler received a Bachelor's Degree from Phillips University with a triple major in chemistry, physics and mathematics, followed by a Master's Degree in Physics from Kansas State University, and later a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico. Hal earned his PhD in Physics from Stanford University in 1961. Harold worked as a chemist for Continental Oil Company before entering graduate school. During and after graduate school, he was employed by Lockheed Space and Missile Systems and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, both in Palo Alto, California, until 1963, when he moved to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he worked as a high energy accelerator physicist until his retirement in 1993, when he and his wife moved to Fort Collins. In connect with his work, Harold, with his wife, spent three separate year-long terms living in France (on the Swiss border) and working as a visiting scientist at CERN laboratories in Geneva, Switzerland – a group of 19 European countries engaged in nuclear research and the recent emergence of the Hadron Super Collider. He traveled to Israel, Russia (at the time, the Soviet Union), England, Scandinavia, and most countries of central, western, and southern Europe to give scientific papers and act as a consultant. Hal, as he was called since his graduate school days, was an active participant, guide/leader, and board member of the local branch of the Colorado Mountain Club. The mountains, and all things connected with them, were dear to his heart – downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, wildflower walking – with his wife and daughter as constant companions. Hal believed, as John Muir wrote: "Climb the mountains, and enjoy their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees." Hal was also a bicycling and tennis enthusiast. And he and his family were deep appreciators of music. He was involved with music his entire life, both participating in (clarinet and oboe) and attending concerts. Also he enjoyed travel and spent much time hiking and skiing in the European countries and learning about their history and culture, as well as traveling in many other beautiful and exciting spots around the globe. In his later years he did volunteer work at the Larimer County Food Bank. Generosity was Hal's hallmark; also his quiet wit. He was a loving son who cared for his mother until age 104; as well as a loving husband and father. He contributed widely to the cultural life and charitable organizations of his community and beyond. Hal is survived by his wife, Flo; his daughter and son-in-law, Nanette and George Shannon; and granddaughter, Caitlin Rose Shannon, of Denver. Also surviving, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Marvin and Mary K. Layman of Oklahoma. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Max Butler. A celebration of Hal's life will be held at the Lodge at MacKenzie Place followed by a reception at 11:00 am on Friday, November 19, 2010. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Fort Collins Symphony and the United Way of Larimer County, through Goes Funeral Care.