Thomas Carroll Butcher, Jr.

Thomas Carroll Butcher, Jr., age 85, of Rison, Arkansas went to be with his Lord on April 18, 2024. He was born July 16, 1938 in Little Rock to the late Thomas Carroll Butcher, Sr. and Jimmie Doogrey McAuliffe Butcher. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years Lynda Marie Brewer Butcher, his daughter Patricia G. Butcher Cooper, and his sisters, Jamie Butcher Todd and Diane Butcher White. He was a faithful member of Rison Baptist Church, where he served as a Deacon and was a member of the choir.  Mr. Butcher was a retired veteran serving 42 years in the United States Army and Army Reserve.  He retired from the 321st Materials Management Center in El Dorado, Arkansas. He worked 26 years for the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service with the United States Department of Agriculture. He took early retirement to become a full-time poultry producer for Tyson Foods as owner and operator of Tom-Lyn Farms. After retiring from poultry farming, he and Lynda traveled by RV across the U.S seeing sights and spending time with family and friends.  He had a love for gardening and being outside on his tractor.  He never met a stranger and could talk for hours on end about any subject anyone was willing to discuss.

To know Tommy was to know the things that brought him the most pride: his family, his military service, and his BSA scouting career. He began his scouting career as a scout in Troop 13 in Helena, AR. He earned his Eagle Scout in 1955 and went on to become Scoutmaster of Troop 13 in the late 1960s. He also went on to be Scoutmaster over Troops in Malvern and in Rison. His dedication to scouting is evidenced by his many awards including: Distinguished Commissioner, Order of the Arrow Brother, Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor, Scoutmaster Award of Merit, Venturing Leadership Award, and the Silver Beaver Award. He was as dedicated to Cub Scouts as he was to Boy Scouts. He served on the Desoto Area Council Executive Board with the Boy Scouts of America.

He attended college at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.  During college he joined the U.S. Army Reserve.  The majority of his 42 years of service were spent with the 321st MMC in El Dorado, AR operating under the 377th TAACOM in Baton Rouge, LA. The men who served with him in this unit were among his dearest friends. His service took him to trainings at military bases across the U.S., to Honduras, and eventually to active duty in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. He retired with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 and was affectionately known among his army friends as “Chief.”  He was Past Commander, Historian and Lifetime member of the American Legion and Past Vice Commander & Lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign War.

Tommy served as a Workforce Investment Board Member and Executive Committee Member for many years until the time of his passing.

He is survived by his wife Mildred Butcher, his children, son-in-law Roger Cooper of Athens, OH, Lynn Butcher Wilson and husband Jeff of Rison, Thomas Carroll “Butch” Butcher, III of Rison, one brother, David M. Butcher (Anne) of Kirby, grandchildren, Kaatie Cooper Vance (Ian) of Kent, OH, Jac Cooper of Jinzhou, China, Jacob Wilson (Carly) of Sheridan, Anna Wilson of Rison, Taylor Williams (Blake) of Harmony Grove, Nathan Wilson (Alison) of Marion, and Riley Butcher of Rison, great-grandchildren, Grady and Curtis Ballard and Hud and Mia Williams.

Pallbearers will be David Chane Butcher, Rusty White, Dwight Simpson, Coy Hartsell, Rickey Fore, Cleve Reed, Larry Summerhill, and John David Todd. Honorary pallbearers will be Mike Cunningham, Lee Pete, Keith Shumway, Steve Pickering, John Orton, Tex Gordon, Lonnie Hardin, and Jimmy Todd.

Visitation will be from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, April 21, 2024, at Buie Funeral Home in Rison.

Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Monday, April 22, 2024, at Rison Baptist Church with Bro. Wade Totty and Bro. Iverson Jackson officiating. Interment will follow in Black Cemetery with military honors.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Rison Baptist Church or the Patricia Butcher Cooper Ohio in LA Scholarship Endowment available at https://giving.ohio.edu/campaigns/37651/donations/new?donation_type=general .