Richard S. Butler

Richard Steven Butler was born to John T. and Anna L. Butler on June 18, 1963 in Jersey City, NJ.

After graduating high school, he received a degree from DeVry Technical Institute.

Richard was employed by Cable and Wireless at the World Trade Towers in New York City and eventually became employed by Sprint International in New York City.  Through that job, he met people from different countries and made several trips to England and Germany to see those friends.  He loved international travel.

Richard married Erica (Niklaus) in 1993.  Six months after their wedding they moved to Mission, Kansas.  Richard knew that if he wanted advancement with Sprint, he would need to be near their headquarters located in Westwood, Kansas at the time.  Richard started his career with Sprint as a technician, became a Special Service Operations Supervisor and eventually earned the title of Network Engineer II.  Richard was employed by Sprint through its transition to Embarq and finally Centurylink.  A career that spanned over 25 years.  Throughout his career he had a talent for resolving issues and was creative with problem solving.  Always striving to achieve higher performance for himself and his team members

Richard and Erica had two children, Janet Ann in 1998 and James Campbell in 2001.  He loved his children!  Family vacations, fishing, and watching his beloved New York Giants win Super Bowls.  Family movie nights included James Bond and The Godfather…just a few of his favorites.  He always looked forward to an annual fishing tournament with his friends at Lake Tanneycomo.  An event he would put on the calendar almost a year in advance so that everyone knew that nothing could interfere with fishing with his friends.

Even after their divorce, Richard and Erica always had Janet and James' best interests at heart and made decisions regarding their children…together.

Richard is survived by his mother, Anna, children, Janet and James, and former wife, Erica.  All of Overland Park, KS.  He is preceded in death by his father John, many aunts and uncles and a cousin.

From traveling around the country to cheering on his kids in their athletic events, Rich loved life and lived it to his fullest. But at the end of the day "He was the best dad he could be" (James Butler) and he did this by always putting his family before anyone else. His presence will be greatly missed and there will not be a day that his family won't feel his absence. We love him and we will miss him so much."