H.R. Rev. Harold E. Butz

Honorably retired Reverend Harold E. Butz died Tuesday, January 8 at Mercy Hospice, Johnston. Harold died from complications of severe rheumatoid arthritis. A private memorial service will be held Saturday, January 12 at the Carson Celebration of Life Center in Maquoketa with burial at Mt. Hope Cemetery. The Reverend Philip W. Barrett, General Presbyter and Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Des Moines and Rev. Ruth Ann Scott, Chaplain will officiate. Harold was born May 4, 1929 in Dayton, Ohio to Ralph and Constance (Smith) Butz. He attended the University of Cincinnati and the University of Chicago Seminary. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and served churches in Ohio and Cedar Rapids and Toledo, Iowa. He moved to Des Moines in 1967 to serve as staff with the Iowa Council of Churches. He married former rural Zwingle resident, Darlene Clark, in 1974. Harold was an advocate for social justice and he intervened to help many individuals through difficult situations. In 1964, he participated in a voter registration drive in Greenwood, Mississippi. He served on boards of local mental health associations and the Iowa Children's Society. Governor Robert Ray appointed him ...[more]

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serve on the State Civil Rights Commission and the State Mental Health Commission. He also served as Interim or Supply Minister to churches in Carroll and throughout the Des Moines Presbytery serving Des Moines and Central Iowa. Harold is survived by his wife Darlene; sister-in-law Dorothy Butz in Columbus, OH; five sisters-in-law, five brothers-in-law in Maquoketa and surrounding areas; 27 nieces and nephews; and many great nieces and nephews, all of whom loved him very much. He was preceded in death by his parents, older brother Robert, mother and father in-law, Clayton and Evelyn Clark, two sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law, and one niece. The family wishes to thank Wesley Life Home Care, Nurse Force, Mercy Hospice, Dr. Ben Collins, Betty Streets, and Julie Thompson for end of life care that enabled Harold to remain in his home - and adopted stray cat, Molly, who sat on his lap and about whom he said, "any little bit of happiness is good for me." Visitation starts at 1 P.M., the service is at 2 P.M. with burial immediately following. The family invites friends and relatives to a lunch in "The Bistro" at Carson's following the celebration of Harold's life. Online condolences may be left at www.CarsonAndSon.com.