A longtime Galesburg attorney, election commissioner and musician has died. Cyril William “Bill” Butts, Jr., died Wednesday, Sept. 2, from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 72.
Butts was born June 8, 1954, in Galesburg, the son of Cyril William Butts, Sr., and Anna Rose Weech Butts. He attended St. Joseph’s Academy and Costa High School before graduating from Galesburg High School in 1972, then earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Idaho, graduating cum laude in 1976. He received his Juris Doctor from St. Louis University Law School in 1979.
A career in public service
Butts practiced law for many years and spent much of his professional life in public service. He served as an assistant attorney general for the Illinois Department of Transportation, Conservation and Historic Preservation, and as an assistant public defender for Knox County handling juvenile, criminal and mental health cases.
He also served for many years as a commissioner with the Galesburg Board of Election Commission.
The list of organizations he was involved with runs long: the Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Noon Rotary Club, Knox County Health Department, Friends of Knox County Nursing Home, the local chapter of Catholic Social Services, Galesburg Historical Society, Knox County Board, Galesburg Sanitary District, C.A.R.E., the Illinois Guardianship Association, the Knox County chapter of the American Cancer Society, the Western Illinois chapter of the American Red Cross, Prairieland Hospice Foundation, OSF Home Health Care and Hospice, the Knox County Democratic Central Committee, the Tourism Council and the Galesburg Jr. Hardball League. He was also a Western Illinois police training instructor.
Music across the region
Butts played trumpet, and played it widely. He performed with a local jazz band and was included in one of CBS Sunday Morning’s Memorial Day Taps Across America features. He was a member of the Rootabaga Jammers and played jazz with Dave Hoffman and friends.
He also belonged to the Galesburg Community Chorus, the Monmouth College Symphonic Concert Band, the Monmouth Municipal Band, Galesburg’s Tuba Christmas, the Western Illinois Wind Band, the Galesburg Regional Concert Band and the Knoxville Community Summer Band.
Butts was a member of Corpus Christi Church, where he sang in the choir, and was a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
His obituary describes a life marked by service, music, friendship, curiosity and an enduring commitment to his hometown and the people around him.
Survivors and services
Butts married Kate Loveland on June 5, 1999. She died April 25, 2007.
He is survived by two sisters, three children, a granddaughter and two stepchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Robert.
Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at Watson Thomas Funeral Home and Crematory in Galesburg, with the rosary prayed at 7 p.m. A funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, with Father Jeffrey Stirniman celebrating.
Read the full obituary.
