Otha H. Butler

Otha Butler ObituaryVisit the Kent-Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Cemeteries website to view the full obituary."Otha Homer Butler was born on 6/17/1931 to Eddward and Maggie Butler in Marietta, NC. Dad was one of nine children: Robert, Junior, Shirley, Margie, Charles, Betty, Kathy & Brenda. When Dad was born, a relative of Grandma's decided it was her turn to name one of the children. There was a guy in town that she was sweet on and thought he would be impressed if he was named after the baby, so Otha it was.Grandma was a housewife and Grandad a farmer, or a sharecropper. They never owned their own home their whole lives and didn't have electricity. Dad never owned a bicycle and would have to walk miles to town or hitch a ride. The family moved around a lot but stayed in the Dillon and Lumberton areas. Store bought food was a luxury and they raised everything they ate. Dad said when on a trip with the Senior Adults at Immanuel, which he loved those trips; they went to an Antebellum mansion, and the slave quarters were better than anything he lived in.Dad said Grandma made the best banana pudding; and I believe it, she was a great cook. Dad loved bananas and said Grandma would take one banana and all the children received one slice. He said he would hold it in his mouth as long as he could just to savor the flavor. He used to work odd jobs as a teen and young man to give him some spending money. When he had enough money, he would go into town to go to the movies. One time, he had a little extra change so he went to the General Store, put his money on the counter and told the clerk he wanted as many bananas as he could get. He ended up with sack full. He said he sat outside and ate those bananas until he was sick.Later as a young man, he worked as a firefighter until the Army came calling for the draft. He was inducted as a Private on 9/12/1951. In basic training, one of the guys with him could not remember the name Otha, so he told Dad he was going to call him "Bud" and that name stuck with him for the rest of his life. Dad was deployed in the Heavy Mortar Company 23rd Infantry Regiment and bound for Korea for the Korean War. He said the ship ride with the Navy made him really sick and he was never fond of boats since. Dad was in the Army for a total of one year, two months, and six days; most of that time was spent on the front lines, near Old Baldy, Pork Chop Hill. Dad said he remembered toasting champagne that the French Foreign Legion had brought with them and being in a fox hole for weeks with the enemy nonstop firing. He remembered going with another soldier to retrieve some radio cables and having to turn around and bellycrawl back, with bullets reigning down upon them. After the war, his commanding officer offered him a promotion to stay and dad declined, retiring from the Army after one year as a TSgt. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, United Nations Service Medal, and the Combat Infantry Badge.Dad went back home to the Lumberton area and worked in a carpet factory and as a gas station attendant. After several years, he decided he wanted to do more with his life and joined the Air Force. After training, his first base was Tyndall Air Force Base as a truck driver. One night after he had been here for a while, Dad and a buddy decided to cruise downtown here in Panama City. They came upon a car at the Chicken Box that had two ladies that his buddy knew. After talking to them for a while, Dad really liked the blonde and asked her out on a date. They followed the girls home so Dad would know where they lived. As they sat talking on the front porch, the girls' dad came outside and said, "Marilyn, Carolyn- bedtime!" and the boys knew it was time to go. That was the night he met our mom. They were married on 12/6/1958 at Immanuel Baptist Church and were married for 63 years until mom passed away.Mom loved to travel. We were stationed at TAFB when I was born; France when Cliff was born; and we lived in Tampa, N.C., TX, CA, and AZ. Dad had switched his line of work to aircraft fuel systems and ended his career as foreman. Dad served two tours in Vietnam, Thailand, and back to Korea, where he said they lived in tents and almost froze to death. Dad retired from the Air Force in 1975 after 20 years and worked at the golf course for a while. He was an exceptional golfer and won many trophies over the years. Dad was right-handed but golfed left-handed. He worked at the Goody Plant and ended up working for the Navy Coastal System for many years. Upon retirement, he worked part-time jobs delivering flowers, working maintenance at AmVets and traveling when he and mom had a chance. Dad finally retired for good and stayed home to take care of mom in her final years. He loved golfing, bowling, reading, watching westerns and Fox News.Dad, thank you for always providing for our family. We always had a place to live, good food to eat, clean clothes, mine and Cliff's blue eyes, and a mom to take us to church and raise us when you couldn't be there. I hope you are beaming as "your bride" sings in God's choir.Dad passed away on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the age of 94 years and 8 months. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Marilyn; his parents; brothers and sisters, Robert, Junior, Margie and Shirley; grandson, Michael, and sister-in-law, Carolyn. He is survived by his children Robin and Cliff; grandchildren Krystal and Tyler, great-grandchildren, Erika, Timothy, and Drew; brother and sisters, Charles, Betty, Kathy, and Brenda; and brothers-in-law, Dick Clagett and Dr. Fred Kirkland."Read The Full ObituaryTo plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.