James R. Butler
DERBY — A friend. A city servant. A gardener. A devoted family man. A true son of Derby.
Those are some of the ways friends and colleagues described their late friend, James R. Butler. A longtime member and past Chief of the Paugasset Hook & Ladder Co. #4, Butler passed away July 2 at age 82 at his vacation home in York, Maine.
“Chief Butler was a true son of Derby,” said Town/City Clerk Marc Garofalo. “He served in so many ways to make our city a better place to live. During any given week you might see him in his garden, fighting a fire, patrolling the streets, at a city meeting and attending a musical concert. He took great care of his wife during her illness and was always there for his family when they needed him. His contributions to a better Derby will be missed.”
Butler was a supernumerary police officer in Derby for 40 years. He was a school teacher in Seymour for 39 years.
Former Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman said Linda Fusco said she and Butler shared a love of Maine’s rocky coast.
“Jimmy was an amazing guy,” Fusco said. “I didn’t grow up in Derby and I didn’t know tons of people. I met Jimmy at a town committee meeting when he was wearing a shirt embroidered with ‘MAINE’ on it. We bonded over Maine. We owned a condo in Kennebunkport and he owned a cottage in York, just two towns apart.”
Fusco recalled a time when she was serving as DTC chair, when Butler approached her during an election year, requesting he be moved from running on the ticket for the tax board to aldermen. “There was a little drama. I ended up asking Jim to move back to the BOAT for the good of the party, with many apologies. He graciously did me that favor without thinking twice. And this morning I was just thinking what a great Alderman he would have been. He always put others first, whether it was his family, his city, his party or his fire family. He was one of the humblest men I ever met,” Fusco said.
He was a member of the Paugies for 55 years, serving as both chief and fire commissioner. Charles Stankye, III, remembered serving with Butler, both with the Paugies and the police.
He’ll never forget that tragic day on Dec. 6, 1985, when the former River Restaurant downtown exploded, killing six Valley residents. Butler was the commanding officer at the scene.
“The most memorable thing is that Jimmy was the incident commander for the tragic River Restaurant explosion,” Stankye said. “We worked together for four days straight at the scene. Jimmy took me under his wing, so to say, and we successfully managed one of the worst tragedies and emergency scenes in Derby. I learned a great deal from Jimmy.”
DTC Chairman Aniello Malerba III said Butler was a dedicated city servant, always willing to lend a helping hand.
“In the time I’ve known Mr. Butler, whether it be through the town committee, tax board or fire department his love and commitment to bettering Derby was second to none,” said Malerba.
BOAT Chairwoman Judy Szewczyk served alongside Butler on the tax board for more than a decade, and recalled he was one of the board’s “most famous members” following a November 2011 election ballot snafu. Butler’s late son, James J. Butler’s name accidentally got placed on the ballot for a spot on the tax board, and the younger Butler won.
Butler’s son was not seeking election to the board. By law, the younger Butler was sworn in, but he quickly resigned so his dad could take his rightful seat on the board. The glitch caught the attention of media far and wide, including a write-up in the Huffington Post.
James J. Butler passed away in 2016 shortly after responding to a fire department call. It was a devastating blow to the family.“Jim was always very fair and very dedicated to Derby,” Szewczyk said. “He was never about party politics. He was just a good guy and did a great job serving the city.”
Mayor Richard Dziekan also served with Butler on the tax board, and agreed with Szewczyk that Butler didn’t care if you were a Republican, Democrat or unaffiliated.
“He was all about Derby and cared about getting things done for the citizens of Derby,” Dziekan said.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, July 8, 2021, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the chapel of the Spinelli-Ricciutu/Bednar-Osiecki Funeral Home, 62 Beaver St., Ansonia. Click here for the obituary.
