Mr. Jessie Rayfield Butler

Mr. Butler was born July 9, 1940, in Bladen County, N.C., and was the son of the late Leon Kermit Butler Sr. and Jessie Rayfield Butler.
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Mr. Butler attended school in Alabama to become an aeronautical and plant mechanic.On Dec. 24, 1960, he married Eleanor Cavanaugh in Dillon, S.C.He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served 10 years.He then enlisted in the U.S. Army attending flight school and serving 11 years.After being promoted to captain, he served as an army pilot until his retirement in 1980.For a short time, following his retirement from the army, he flew as a commercial pilot.He then was accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller until he retired in 2001.

He is survived by his wife, Eleanor C. Butler; son, Leon Kermit "Kit" Butler III and wife, Chantel, of Peters Creek; daughter, Tammy B. Howell and husband, Joseph, of Valdez; and grandchildren Jonathaniel and Jasmine Butler, Michael, Gene and Jacob Howell, all of Alaska.

Arrangements were made by the Quinn-McGowen Funeral Home in Wallace, N.C.