Visitation: will be from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, Sunday, May 16, 2004 at the Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home in Gillette.
Interment: will follow at the Mount Pisgah Cemetery in Gillette, Wyoming with full military honors provided by the American Legion Post # 42.
Joe Butcher, age 91, of Newcastle, Wyoming, died May 6, 2004 at the Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette, Wyoming of natural causes.
Joseph Orville Butcher was born May 24, 1912 the son of Joseph Orville and Linnie May (Doran) Butcher in White Cloud, Kansas. In 1913, Joe and his family moved to Wyoming, where they homesteaded south of Gillette. Joe and his family moved many times in the years before his graduation. In 1915, they moved from Wyoming to Louisiana then to Florida and then back to Gillette in 1922. In 1927 they moved to Oregon then back to Wyoming in 1928. In 1930, Joe graduated from Campbell County High School in Gillette, Wyoming. Joe operated heavy equipment throughout Wyoming, southern Utah, and Montana. He was a veteran of World War II, enlisting on October 28, 1943, operating heavy equipment. During his tour of duty he received an Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign Medal and a World War II Victory Medal. On June 10, 1935, he married Margaret "Sue" Lowery in Riverside, California. Upon his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy on November 27, 1945, he worked as a heavy equipment operator for Knisley-Moore on various projects like interstate 90 by Buffalo, Wyoming and the Keyhole Dam Project.
He and Sue lived and worked in almost every town in Wyoming. He then moved to Colstrip, Montana, where he worked as a heavy equipment operator in a surface coal mine. In 1989, they moved back to Gillette, Wyoming to be close to his family. He then moved to Newcastle, Wyoming where he resided for three years. Joe enjoyed writing poetry, rock collecting, and journalism. He also liked telling funny stories to his nieces about when he was a "little girl." He was devoted to his wife, Sue of over 58 years. He was a member of the American Legion Post # 42.
Joe is survived by two sisters: Linnie Adrian of Banning, California; and Vivian Addison of Gillette, Wyoming, and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife on June 25, 1993; his parents, Joe & Linnie Butcher; one brother, George S. Butcher; and two sisters: Ethel Shelton and Irene Hoel.
A memorial has been established in Joe's name to benefit the Pioneer Manor Alzheimer's Unit of Gillette, Wyoming or the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of Gillette.Donations may be sent in care of Stevenson-Wilson Funeral Home, 210 W. 5th Street, Gillette, Wyoming 82716.
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