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"Deputy's cancer battle ends
Thursday, May 31, 2007
By BRAD CROCKER The Mississippi Press
BIG POINT -- Frank Butler was surrounded by family and friends Wednesday morning when he lost his battle with terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphatic cancer.
Butler, 43, a Jackson County sheriff's deputy for 22 years, was flown in last week from a Tampa hospital where he had been for 11 months so he could spend his last remaining days with his loved ones.
Deputies raised more than $4,000 to pay the air fare, and Pascagoula attorney David McCormick donated his private jet so Butler's four children -- Marcos, 17, Mallory, 15, Mariah, 13, and Micah, 11 -- could also fly back and be with their father.
"Frank was a great Christian man. He fought a hard battle," Sheriff Mike Byrd said Wednesday. "He was a great family man. He loved his wife (Nancy), loved his children and he loved law enforcement. We're certainly going to miss him."
Butler's law enforcement brothers were also able to repair Butler's home before he returned, one of Butler's final wishes.
Byrd said it was difficult for him and deputies to say good-bye to Butler because at one time doctors had given him a much better chance to survive the cancer after being in remission previously.
Butler was in Tampa for 11 months to receive cancer treatments and a stem-cell procedure doctors thought would save his life.
"It (cancer) came back ... but Frank being Frank, he fought back, too," Byrd said.
The Rev. Bill Barton, pastor of Butler's home church at Wade Baptist Church, called Butler a "quiet, humble fellow" who congregation members could always count on.
"He always sat in the front pew on the right side of the church every Sunday," said Barton, adding that others he's talked to described Butler's "Christian walk" as one that reflected his service to others, both as a deputy and as a neighbor.
"He was so faithful. You can really appreciate people like Frank," Barton said.
A wake is tentatively set for Friday, with burial services expected Sunday.
Reporter Brad Crocker can be reached at [email protected] or (228) 934-1431. "
I had the pleasure of meeting this deputy a couple times befor ehe got bad off, he always had a smile on his face and was a friend to everyone he met. My prayers are with his family and the JCSO.
R.I.P Frank
Thursday, May 31, 2007
By BRAD CROCKER The Mississippi Press
BIG POINT -- Frank Butler was surrounded by family and friends Wednesday morning when he lost his battle with terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphatic cancer.
Butler, 43, a Jackson County sheriff's deputy for 22 years, was flown in last week from a Tampa hospital where he had been for 11 months so he could spend his last remaining days with his loved ones.
Deputies raised more than $4,000 to pay the air fare, and Pascagoula attorney David McCormick donated his private jet so Butler's four children -- Marcos, 17, Mallory, 15, Mariah, 13, and Micah, 11 -- could also fly back and be with their father.
"Frank was a great Christian man. He fought a hard battle," Sheriff Mike Byrd said Wednesday. "He was a great family man. He loved his wife (Nancy), loved his children and he loved law enforcement. We're certainly going to miss him."
Butler's law enforcement brothers were also able to repair Butler's home before he returned, one of Butler's final wishes.
Byrd said it was difficult for him and deputies to say good-bye to Butler because at one time doctors had given him a much better chance to survive the cancer after being in remission previously.
Butler was in Tampa for 11 months to receive cancer treatments and a stem-cell procedure doctors thought would save his life.
"It (cancer) came back ... but Frank being Frank, he fought back, too," Byrd said.
The Rev. Bill Barton, pastor of Butler's home church at Wade Baptist Church, called Butler a "quiet, humble fellow" who congregation members could always count on.
"He always sat in the front pew on the right side of the church every Sunday," said Barton, adding that others he's talked to described Butler's "Christian walk" as one that reflected his service to others, both as a deputy and as a neighbor.
"He was so faithful. You can really appreciate people like Frank," Barton said.
A wake is tentatively set for Friday, with burial services expected Sunday.
Reporter Brad Crocker can be reached at [email protected] or (228) 934-1431. "
I had the pleasure of meeting this deputy a couple times befor ehe got bad off, he always had a smile on his face and was a friend to everyone he met. My prayers are with his family and the JCSO.
R.I.P Frank
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