Butler, Bartlett Russell 1927-2012
BUTLER, BERG, DAUM, ARENDS, DONLAN
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 8/20/2012 at 15:52:34
Bartlett R. Butler, age 84 of Decorah, IA, died Sunday morning, January 15, 2012 at Aase Haugen Home in Decorah.
Memorial Services will be at 11:00 A.M. Friday, January 20, 2012 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah, with Rev. Joan A. Mau officiating. A Private Family Inurnment will be held at a later date at Lutheran Cemetery in Decorah.
Visitation begins on Friday at 10:00 A.M., one hour before services, at the church.
Bartlett Russell Butler was born July 21, 1927 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Frank M. and Violet N. (Berg) Butler. Bartlett was raised in the Twin Cities, where he was an active church musician for ten years, from the age of fifteen. He graduated from Central High School in 1944 and then attended Macalester College for one year. He transferred to the University of Minnesota, where he received his B.A. in Classical Languages and Humanities, and an M.A. in Music History and Literature. He did additional study in organ and church music at Northwestern University and completed his Ph.D. in Musicology and Theory at the University of Illinois. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa (1949), Phi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Kappa Phi (1961).
Bart was united in marriage to Barbara Daum on June 9, 1949 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. This union was blessed with three children: David, Anne and Paul.
He came to Luther College in 1954 as a sabbatical replacement to teach organ, theory, and German, and to direct the Chapel Choir. With many years of experience as an organist and choir master, he developed new courses at Luther in worship, liturgy, and church music and directed the Chapel Choir to exemplify the role of choral music in the liturgy. He was then appointed instructor to teach music literature and music history. In this second year he continued directing the choir, but was urged to establish the Luther College Community Orchestra, which began the continuous history of what was to become Luther's Symphony Orchestra. An extended pre-doctoral leave included a study at the University of Illinois, supported by several fellowships, a full-time appointment as a visiting lecturer in music history, and a year's residency in Germany under a grant from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music. After his return from Europe and completion of the dissertation, he gave up the choir after thirteen years of rewarding music making. The respite from music making was brief. He formed the Collegium Musicum and directed the group for seventeen years, for which he assembled a varied repertory of vocal, choral, instrumental, and mixed ensemble music, and a representative collection of period instruments (most of which he learned to play). Shortly before retirement, he produced, along with enthusiastic student involvement, four annual Madrigal Dinners for the holidays.
Since retirement in 1989, Bart and his wife Barbara chose to remain in Decorah and stay active in the Luther community, which has much to offer those devoted like him to the liberal arts. He was a specialist in the history of liturgical music during the sixteenth century in Nuremburg, Germany, and continued to read papers at scholarly conferences in this country, as well as Canada and England. His work has been cited in Europe, Australia, and Japan as well in the United States. His publications include reviews in the 16-Century Journal, the Archiv fuer Reformationgeschichte, and the Religious Studies Review; substantial entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation (1996), and a new chapter on the church music of the Lutheran Reformation in Key Words in Church Music. He was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Carol Butler; and two brothers, Jack and Theo Butler.
Bart is survived by his wife, Barbara, three children: David W. Butler, Fairfield, IA, Anne B. Arends (John), St. Charles, IL and Paul R. Butler (Jenny) of Decorah; and by five grandchildren: Katharine, Allison, and David Arends, Sam Donlan, and Seth Butler.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Luther College, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, WMC Hospice or a charity of the donor’s choice.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Lutheran Cemetery, Decorah
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen