A massive loss to the forum.

[goldshark]

I am also saddened by the loss of a great mentor. May he walk in kind pastures.

 

[AndyWilliams]

It is very sad to hear of the loss of Butcher. I hope all of you are doing well.

 

[Crystal Butcher]

Oh wow, sad to hear. I too felt we were friends.
wow, anyone know how?

This is his oldest daughter, Crystal.

My dad sometimes would have me log on here if he got locked out.. He enjoyed this forum, teaching and the friendship it offered him and it gave him a outlet for his mind us girls never could.
His heart got very weak with congestive heart failure, he was very willful and getting him to go see a dr was impossible.

The Dr's wanted to do a Angiogram, his heart had fluid buildup and he had been having trouble laying down and sleeping, but the Dr told us the angiogram would not be a issue, and he could go home after and enjoy some more years with meds.. He was in the hospital for about a week and had a ton of tests, they just wanted to do this last one..

He died on the table. The Dr's told us his liver was in pretty bad shape from his fluid build up and congestive heart failure and it sometimes ruins the liver.. He had a heart attack and could not be brought back..

It was a shock to the Dr's to lose him this way and that night they were so confident they convinced me all my worries was silly and not to put the Angiogram off and let him rest a few weeks and let the water pills clear more fluid.. , He had a hard time laying down due to the fluid build up putting pressure on his lungs and some other Dr said something about his liver a few days before. The dr said he was not at all worried about him laying down nor his liver, Dad would be home and doing so much better after the water pills kicked in more and we might as well have the Angiogram behind us.
I seen him that morning, sleeping laying down, but did not want to wake him as he needed his rest for later, he looked peaceful.

He really wanted many more years of Gold talk and was looking forward to feeling much better on the meds and getting back to projects.
I've been sorting through all his tons of paper notes, I guess he wanted to write a book and his research was insane, it will take a long time to get rid of it all but it's all Greek to me.
He was sure loved by his wife and two girls.
We miss him more than words can say.




Fall 2023




He got a lumber mill and was making boards last summer/ fall.. He sure kept busy, he loved to garden and had more hobbies then I can list. I wish I had his talent and mind.. He was always fixing something!


Picture from about 18 years ago.

 

[Crystal Butcher]

Very sad news. Someone who helped so many people here. We need more people like him, not less
RIP

I believe I spent a great deal of my childhood on the side of the road waiting, while he fixed cars that had broken down. Everyday he was helping some person or animal.

A new internet company came to his small town, but a three-foot snow storm took out a part on the tower high on the mountain. Two weeks without internet. or his Gold forum... !!! He called the owner and asked what the problem was? something on the tower needed replaced and his repair man had a broken leg and could not climb.

My Dad said, " If you can take me to the tower, I'll Climb it and fix it.." Good thing the company owner had a four wheel drive to get up the mountain and agreed to let him repair it, not sure my dad could take another day without his Gold forum.... He was back on the gold forum that night!! He restored internet for most the town.

I remember when a huge storm knocked out power to my town and he just joined the line crew for two days worked 30 hours straight for free in a bucket after his 10-hour shift .. Or if there was a fire, he would pulled over, get out, and grab a hose/ tool and off with the fire crew he would go.. leaving us to wonder when we would see him again.

Everyone tells me they never met anyone like him.. My childhood was so full of adventures.

 

[Hartbar]

R.I.P

 

[Yggdrasil]

First and foremost my condolences to you and the rest of his family.

Thanks for this information, it is valuable for those of us that did not meet or know him in person.
He is missed that is for sure.

 

[Yggdrasil]

I believe I spent a great deal of my childhood on the side of the road waiting, while he fixed cars that had broken down. Everyday he was helping some person or animal.

A new internet company came to his small town, but a three-foot snow storm took out a part on the tower high on the mountain. Two weeks without internet. or his Gold forum... !!! He called the owner and asked what the problem was? something on the tower needed replaced and his repair man had a broken leg and could not climb.

My Dad said, " If you can take me to the tower, I'll Climb it and fix it.." Good thing the company owner had a four wheel drive to get up the mountain and agreed to let him repair it, not sure my dad could take another day without his Gold forum.... He was back on the gold forum that night!! He restored internet for most the town.

I remember when a huge storm knocked out power to my town and he just joined the line crew for two days worked 30 hours straight for free in a bucket after his 10-hour shift .. Or if there was a fire, he would pulled over, get out, and grab a hose/ tool and off with the fire crew he would go.. leaving us to wonder when we would see him again.

Everyone tells me they never met anyone like him.. My childhood was so full of adventures.

Sorry I forgot to welcome you, but is like you already are a part of this forum.
Anyway you are welcome.

 

[Crystal Butcher]

I guess he liked to use the ban button, for some reason that cracks me up Yes, while Gold is far from my knowledge wheel, he did pass on some special traits to his girls. My sister was very invested in saltwater coral propagation, and there is a fair amount of chemistry involved. My dad left her notes all over the products she used for her tanks

I sure do like coming here and seeing some of his posts, his house is full of papers and notes this gave him such a outlet and joy in his life.

He loved sharing knowledge and being a mentor, he missed his calling for sure. All my friends who did not have dads felt like he was there's... He had to get his boiler license due to new regulations on his job, The hospital has a big boiler room. He worked at the hospital for years, and in class he could not keep his mouth shut, at last the teacher told him, " why don't you teach the class and I'll watch Richard?" So every night my dad was preparing for teaching the class while the teacher sat in the class and watched while my dad ran the class.... It was a lot of extra work for my dad, but it took it from being an annoying waste of his time to getting him engaged.

He died at the hospital he used to work at for 28 years, I felt I grow up in the boiler room. and was hoping a Engineer would show up as my dad was as welll, My dad's cabinet in his room had a door with a broken door and the Nuse called it in to get fixed.
A young Engineer showed up but seen his family was with him and went by his room to talk to a nurse not wanting to come in the room while my dad had visitors....

Oh no! My sister and I went and messed with his cart, and he was like what the heck? with a grin and came in to see why we were playing around his cart, and We got to catch up on all the hospital goings on and it made m dad so happy.. He was so nice. He sent to new boiler guy later on to talk to my dad while I was not there.

 

[goldshark]

I guess he liked to use the ban button, for some reason that cracks me up Yes, while Gold is far from my knowledge wheel, he did pass on some special traits to his girls. My sister was very invested in saltwater coral propagation, and there is a fair amount of chemistry involved. My dad left her notes all over the products she used for her tanks

I sure do like coming here and seeing some of his posts, his house is full of papers and notes this gave him such a outlet and joy in his life.

He loved sharing knowledge and being a mentor, he missed his calling for sure. All my friends who did not have dads felt like he was there's... He had to get his boiler license due to new regulations on his job, The hospital has a big boiler room. He worked at the hospital for years, and in class he could not keep his mouth shut, at last the teacher told him, " why don't you teach the class and I'll watch Richard?" So every night my dad was preparing for teaching the class while the teacher sat in the class and watched while my dad ran the class.... It was a lot of extra work for my dad, but it took it from being an annoying waste of his time to getting him engaged.

He died at the hospital he used to work at for 28 years, I felt I grow up in the boiler room. and was hoping a Engineer would show up as my dad was as welll, My dad's cabinet in his room had a door with a broken hedge and the Nuse called it in to get fixed..
A young Engineer showed up but seen his family was with him and went by his room to talk to a nurse not wanting to come in the room while my dad had visitors....

Oh no! My sister and I went and messed with his cart, and he was like what the heck? with a grin and came in to see why we were playing around his cart, and We got to catch up on all the hospital goings on and it made m dad so happy.. He was so nice. He sent to new boiler guy later on to talk to my dad while I was not there.

Thank you so much for bringing the human side to him. Being a member of the forum for a short time, I have made a few forum friends. But everybody likes their anonymity, probably due to the occasional psycho. As a consequence, we maintain our distance, and never really get to truly know a person. What you added brings closure to many of us who liked , and respected his posts. I always wonder what the other members do and look like, in their normal daily jobs and hobbies. Thank you again.

 

[kurtak]

This is his oldest daughter, Crystal.

Hello Crystal

First & foremost - THANK YOU for coming here to the forum & updating us on the events that lead up to the passing of your dad

There are some of us that have been members here for many years & one of the highlights of having your dad here was the ABSOLUTE AWESOME discussions we had almost daily (if not daily) about the subject of refining precious metal --- I for one owe a GREAT deal of gratitude to your dad for my being a successful refiner as the result of the thing he taught me in what he posted here on the forum

He was sure loved by his wife and two girls.

In the world of refining your dad is/was a "Rock Star" & the information he provided here will live on into the future as a tool for teaching new members that come here to learn about refining --- we could say that the things he posted here are like gold &/or platinum records hanging on the walls of this forum

He was sure loved by his wife and two girls.
We miss him more than words can say.

Nothing can replace the LOVE of direct family - but your dad also had an extend family - & that is those of us here on this forum that had the GREAT pleasure of knowing your dad here & the MANY discussions we enjoyed with him

He is & will most certainly be missed by this extended family as well - more then words can say

I've been sorting through all his tons of paper notes

I had the honor of stopping in at your dads home to meet with him about 6 years ago & one of the things that impressed me the most was not just his impressive library of books but the impressive amount of notes he had to go with all of those books - it is no wonder he was able to provide this forum with so much information about refining - information that will live on as a teaching tool for a very long time

Again - THANK YOU for posting here & updating us

And - THANK YOU for posting the pictures of your dad

We VERY MUCH LOVED your dad - & by extension we LOVE YOU & YOUR FAMILY

Kurt

 

[Crystal Butcher]

Thank you Kurt, he loved all you and respected so many members, and felt it was such a blessing to learn from you guys! At least he had Mentors and it meant so much to be able to learn from the people here... He was like a sponge and so much of his life he was all alone with nothing to soak up.. He was ALWAYS studying everything when I was growing up. He loved history and digging around old Indian camps in west Texas for hours, ect it was so amazing. He could make and fix anything.

He had a very abusive up bring that was the stuff of nightmares. His Mom killed herself when he was four, his stepdad only kept him around to raise his real kids and his stepdad did stuff like shoot and throw his dead dog into his bed because my dad used a old butter dish for a water bowl for it.. he was crazy like that ... My dad also took all the beatings in the household and his half siblings think of my dad as their dad, as he was a caring figure in their life as their dad was gone at work and if he was not, they wish he was, so my uncle kinda feels like he lost his dad as well even if it was his bother. they are only a few years apart. They have massive guilt over blaming him and getting him beat as they had that power to turn their dad's anger away from them to a stepchild, but they just wanted to live so I don't blame them one bit. My dad never seemed too..

My uncle has started a camp for foster kids and I know my dad's there in spirt with him...

My dad moved out at 12 and lived in a tree by a lake, found a old bike without a seat in the dump and used a old veggie can as a seat and got to school on it.. but he hardly learned much, often his stepdad was keeping him awake at night drunk or shooting in the house, so he tried to sleep in school. he joined the tower crew painting radio towers at 15 in the summer and at nights and moved into a co-worker's home who had a wife abused in a home invasion and did not like to be alone, so he slept in their living room floor to make her feel safe while he was on the road. Then at 18 he finished high school but could hardly read, and installed radio towers all across the US, sometimes they would put two up next to each other and they were so tall, they would place a board and walk between them and brace against the wind. It was like the circus came to town.

My dad would come in and check on his siblings and when my mom and him was dating, his younger brother would often go on their dates. ok Always go? lol ... My dad also tried to store some belongings at his stepdads, but his younger brother thought it would be a great idea to have a yard sell with his belongings. My uncle was a budding entrepreneur from the get-go They were so different, one went into the beauty world of spa's and made a ton of money always dressed to the nines, played in a band was not very handy. big house a pool, He had the best of everything, WAS great with money his body strong and handsome, not crippled like my dad's from years of abuse. and my dad always had holes in his coats, and growing up in rags, if I got him nice things, he would just put them up and save them but it shocked me when I called my uncle and told him my dad was in the hospital, he expressed his frustration about he just spent his life seeking approval of my dad.. I was shaken to my core, he admired the man my dad was and how he had raised him.

One of his co-workers on the tower crew decided to "drop" his crew mates to feed a drug habit, they had 150-pound weights. they would tie to them to kick away from the towers to come down fast kinda like rock climbers? anyway, he just dropped my dad, (last guy he dropped he went over and took his wallet off the dead body), but after a 60 foot drop, my dad was still alive, so he called it in and got him help, two crushed legs and a messed up back. ( one of his care takers as a kid broke him legs when he was eight and he spent forever in a cast that was unpleasant to say the least with a mean nurse) might be why he was so hard to get to go to the DR, but a lot of men are like that.... I tried!

So by the time I was born, he had a good limp, it did not slow him down. the amount of pain he could take was impossible for me to even think about. he slipped on a tree log and hurt himself pretty bad and went to work climbing ladders all day , the X-ray tech told him to let him take a X-ray.. sure, enough he had cracked his hip badly, he felt bad about asking to be took off ladder duty, but I'm so thankful to that X-ray tech for demanding that be done!!

In any event, I ended up being a foster mother because who knows how far my dad could of went if he had even one adult in his life that was stable and cared about him growing up.. Yes, struggles make us who we are, but they also damage us.. Sorry, this is so long, I just missed him so much.

 

[galenrog]

Crystal,

I had few communications with your father, but all were informative, cordial, and polite. Although I never met him, I regarded him as a good man.

Galen in Texas

 

[Fix the thingy]

Condolences and RESPECT

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Crystal, I can't tell you how much your posts have meant to me! I share some of your dad's personality traits like being introverted and not spending a lot of time around other people, and I believe I found the same comfort here that your dad found. I had many great conversations with your dad over the last dozen or so years since I joined here. I thank you and your family for sharing him with us.

I loved the pictures. The one where he was younger would have been about how he looked when he joined the forum.

Your dad made over 10,000 posts, usually trying to help others, but didn't talk about himself very much. He carried himself with grace and never put others down. Even when he told us about his tower fall, he only said that he had fallen, not that anyone else had played a part in the fall.

He did mention you and your sister from time to time. If you'd like to see those posts, I've done a few searches for you.

Here are posts where he mentioned his daughter(s).

Here are some where he mentioned "girls".

Not all of these posts are about you and your sister. They're simple searches where he used the word daughter or girls.

As I write this, I am also remined of your dad's first post here. He was a member for several years before I joined, but I read through all the old posts here because there was so much good information in the early days. He took a little criticism about his writing style, but as always, he took the opportunity to improve. Here's his first thread.

I believe a couple of folks have tried to make contact to ask if any of you need any help in cleaning up any thing left over from your dad's refining activities. The chemicals we use are dangerous and the solutions we create are toxic. Most of us who refine can have supplies of the chemicals we use as well as amounts of the wastes we produce. Please know that if you need any help in cleaning up anything your dad may have had in process, we would like to help. Knowing how your dad loved and respected mother Earth, I'm guessing there's not much clean up to do, but we're here if you need us.

Dave

 

[NotYourMommaBear]

Thank you Kurt, he loved all you and respected so many members, and felt it was such a blessing to learn from you guys! At least he had Mentors and it meant so much to be able to learn from the people here... He was like a sponge and so much of his life he was all alone with nothing to soak up.. He was ALWAYS studying everything when I was growing up. He loved history and digging around old Indian camps in west Texas for hours, ect it was so amazing. He could make and fix anything.

He had a very abusive up bring that was the stuff of nightmares. His Mom killed herself when he was four, his stepdad only kept him around to raise his real kids and his stepdad did stuff like shoot and throw his dead dog into his bed because my dad used a old butter dish for a water bowl for it.. he was crazy like that ... My dad also took all the beatings in the household and his half siblings think of my dad as their dad, as he was a caring figure in their life as their dad was gone at work and if he was not, they wish he was, so my uncle kinda feels like he lost his dad as well even if it was his bother. they are only a few years apart. They have massive guilt over blaming him and getting him beat as they had that power to turn their dad's anger away from them to a stepchild, but they just wanted to live so I don't blame them one bit. My dad never seemed too..

My uncle has started a camp for foster kids and I know my dad's there in spirt with him...

My dad moved out at 12 and lived in a tree by a lake, found a old bike without a seat in the dump and used a old veggie can as a seat and got to school on it.. but he hardly learned much, often his stepdad was keeping him awake at night drunk or shooting in the house, so he tried to sleep in school. he joined the tower crew painting radio towers at 15 in the summer and at nights and moved into a co-worker's home who had a wife abused in a home invasion and did not like to be alone, so he slept in their living room floor to make her feel safe while he was on the road. Then at 18 he finished high school but could hardly read, and installed radio towers all across the US, sometimes they would put two up next to each other and they were so tall, they would place a board and walk between them and brace against the wind. It was like the circus came to town.

My dad would come in and check on his siblings and when my mom and him was dating, his younger brother would often go on their dates. ok Always go? lol ... My dad also tried to store some belongings at his stepdads, but his younger brother thought it would be a great idea to have a yard sell with his belongings. My uncle was a budding entrepreneur from the get-go They were so different, one went into the beauty world of spa's and made a ton of money always dressed to the nines, played in a band was not very handy. big house a pool, He had the best of everything, WAS great with money his body strong and handsome, not crippled like my dad's from years of abuse. and my dad always had holes in his coats, and growing up in rags, if I got him nice things, he would just put them up and save them but it shocked me when I called my uncle and told him my dad was in the hospital, he expressed his frustration about he just spent his life seeking approval of my dad.. I was shaken to my core, he admired the man my dad was and how he had raised him.

One of his co-workers on the tower crew decided to "drop" his crew mates to feed a drug habit, they had 150-pound weights. they would tie to them to kick away from the towers to come down fast kinda like rock climbers? anyway, he just dropped my dad, (last guy he dropped he went over and took his wallet off the dead body), but after a 60 foot drop, my dad was still alive, so he called it in and got him help, two crushed legs and a messed up back. ( one of his care takers as a kid broke him legs when he was eight and he spent forever in a cast that was unpleasant to say the least with a mean nurse) might be why he was so hard to get to go to the DR, but a lot of men are like that.... I tried!

So by the time I was born, he had a good limp, it did not slow him down. the amount of pain he could take was impossible for me to even think about. he slipped on a tree log and hurt himself pretty bad and went to work climbing ladders all day , the X-ray tech told him to let him take a X-ray.. sure, enough he had cracked his hip badly, he felt bad about asking to be took off ladder duty, but I'm so thankful to that X-ray tech for demanding that be done!!

In any event, I ended up being a foster mother because who knows how far my dad could of went if he had even one adult in his life that was stable and cared about him growing up.. Yes, struggles make us who we are, but they also damage us.. Sorry, this is so long, I just missed him so much.

This just touched my heart so much. Thank you for sharing some of his story. It just lifted me from the gutters. I didn't know him but I know that fighting spirit. Compassion for others is sometimes all we have. Bless your heart and your family. Whenever I feel lost and miss my husband I put my feet down head up and try to do the next right thing for someone else. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Crystal Butcher]

Crystal, I can't tell you how much your posts have meant to me! I share some of your dad's personality traits like being introverted and not spending a lot of time around other people, and I believe I found the same comfort here that your dad found. I had many great conversations with your dad over the last dozen or so years since I joined here. I thank you and your family for sharing him with us.

I loved the pictures. The one where he was younger would have been about how he looked when he joined the forum.

Your dad made over 10,000 posts, usually trying to help others, but didn't talk about himself very much. He carried himself with grace and never put others down. Even when he told us about his tower fall, he only said that he had fallen, not that anyone else had played a part in the fall.

He did mention you and your sister from time to time. If you'd like to see those posts, I've done a few searches for you.

Here are posts where he mentioned his daughter(s).

Here are some where he mentioned "girls".

Not all of these posts are about you and your sister. They're simple searches where he used the word daughter or girls.

As I write this, I am also remined of your dad's first post here. He was a member for several years before I joined, but I read through all the old posts here because there was so much good information in the early days. He took a little criticism about his writing style, but as always, he took the opportunity to improve. Here's his first thread.

I believe a couple of folks have tried to make contact to ask if any of you need any help in cleaning up any thing left over from your dad's refining activities. The chemicals we use are dangerous and the solutions we create are toxic. Most of us who refine can have supplies of the chemicals we use as well as amounts of the wastes we produce. Please know that if you need any help in cleaning up anything your dad may have had in process, we would like to help. Knowing how your dad loved and respected mother Earth, I'm guessing there's not much clean up to do, but we're here if you need us.

Dave

Thank you, Dave, for your offer to help sort out things I might come across, last few years my dad seemed more into studying then playing with chemicals, but I might run across something I'm puzzled on... When I would visit him, he would show me how he reduced and reduced things until they were harmless and that seemed almost more important than getting the Gold.

So, I hope most is in a non-harmful state as I believe it to be. There might be some unused stuff in bottles, but I'll have labels etc. to help guide me. Yes, he was so hurt his run On's was not understood, and he worked really hard on that.

I seen somewhere about his 10,000 posts!!!

At the hospital he wanted all the Montor tabs stuck to him, he said there is precious metals in them! the nurses grinned and said OK and put them in his little bag of belongs .. even in the end he thoughts where about metal.. This group has been a comfort to me. I'm glad he left a mark on the world wide web.

 

[Crystal Butcher]

This just touched my heart so much. Thank you for sharing some of his story. It just lifted me from the gutters. I didn't know him but I know that fighting spirit. Compassion for others is sometimes all we have. Bless your heart and your family. Whenever I feel lost and miss my husband I put my feet down head up and try to do the next right thing for someone else. Thank you for sharing.

This is a hard loss as we are a very close family and I married into a very small family. My husband's parents were gone too young as well and now my dad in a span of 18 months. They all got to retirement age after a lifetime of hard work then died without those sweet golden years, we hoped to enjoy with them.

I'm so sorry about the loss of your husband. (((HUG)))) The journey of losing someone has so many twists and turns. and it's so easy to get sucked into places you don't want to be and feel so very alone.

 

[kurtak]

I believe a couple of folks have tried to make contact to ask if any of you need any help in cleaning up any thing left over from your dad's refining activities

Thank you, Dave, for your offer to help sort out things I might come across, last few years my dad seemed more into studying then playing with chemicals, but I might run across something I'm puzzled on.

Hello again Crystal

I live only about 6 hours away from your mom & dads place - what I remember from my visit with you dad about 6 years ago was that out in the little shed behind him in the picture with the garden hose is where he keep his chemicals for refining as well as a few buckets of waste chemicals from his refining

That was 6 years ago so he may have cleaned that all up &/or already gotten rid of it all

If not - it would not be a big deal for me to drive over to help clean up any waste chemicals for proper/safe disposal & as well I would be willing to buy any chemicals usable for refining

It wasn't a lot but should be properly delt with

If nothing else it would be worth the trip just to give you & your mom a big (((HUG)))

We should talk on the phone so I am going to send you a PM (Privet Message) so we can exchange phone numbers

Kurt

 

[zacchy]

regrettable loss, peace on the grave of our friend Buchner.

 

[J.Najam]

Oh man,

It breaks my heart to come across any obituary on this forum or anywhere and this time its one of those people whom I admired so much. I mean we never had any conversation but I sure did read up many of his posts. His intricate mathematical details and chemical knowledge was the one of the factors that enforced me to dive deeper not only in the field of refining but also initiated the understanding of how chemicals work and behave. there may be a negligence somewhere on my part but that was void was always filled here.

Dear Crystal Butcher, stay strong prayers with you and your family in these challenging times.

Anyhow, Indeed we belong to him and to him we return.

May your soul find eternal peace Butch.