Nine months after Butler’s death last January at the age of 54 from unexpected surgical complications, it is evident that David Chase still cannot speak of his old friend without deep emotion. Each of the people we interviewed for this story spoke with open affection and admiration for this man who left their lives too soon. For Chase, who knew and worked with Centerville’s Butler for decades on numerous landmark civic projects, the loss of such a friend has been devastating.
“I worked with Pat on many philanthropic projects over the years,” says Chase, who along with Butler was recently lauded as the prime mover and shaker behind the new Hyannis Youth and Community Center. “He was my anchor. Pat would always say, ‘Now, now Mr. Chase, we can work this out together.’ We always called each other Mr. Butler and Mr. Chase. He was just a gentleman.”
Chase says that the recent opening of the $24 million Hyannis Youth and Community Center, which he stresses would not have been built without Butler’s 13-year stewardship of the project, comforts him as a reflection of Butler’s professional acumen, optimistic spirit, and strong belief in community service. “Pat was really the guy who spearheaded this project,” says Chase. “He was great at everything—from the initial concept and design, through several feasibility studies. He helped sell the project to the town, the state, and the federal government and took it through all the permitting steps.”
Chase notes that Butler, a highly successful attorney and manager of the Hyannis office of Nutter McClennen & Fish, was especially adept at fundraising. Whether working for the youth center, or for Cape Cod Healthcare where his leadership was pivotal in the organization’s $100 million capital campaign, (see page P10 for a related story) Butler believed in the importance of giving back. His wife, Susan, says this belief was instilled in him at a very young age by caring parents. Perhaps his genuine nature and open sincerity is what gave his fundraising requests such immediacy.
“When we got to the fundraising side of the youth center, Pat was a leader in that, too,” says Chase. “We got the campaign running in 2003-2004, which is when I began to run the center’s capital campaign. But it was Pat who raised the first million dollars—he got that through Ted Kennedy.”
As an expert in land use and commercial real estate transactions, Butler represented many of the area’s businesses and nonprofit institutions, frequently appearing before the Cape Cod Commission, a regional regulatory agency. Chase notes Butler’s considerable experience in such matters was of tremendous value in smoothing the way for any project’s completion.
When talking about his old friend, it is hard for Chase to choose which philanthropic efforts are most reflective of Butler’s compassion. Describing Hyannis’s 1990s Main Street Learning project at the Horace Mann Charter School, Chase says that Butler was especially inspired working with elementary school children to help them understand the everyday business world. “At that time, the kids were developing a Monopoly-style game called Main Street Learning,” says Chase. “They designed the game and did all the packaging. It was so well done—and raised so much money—that the kids ended up on NBC’s Today show. As president of the Main Street Learning project, Pat worked closely with school’s former principal Tom McDonald, to shepherd that whole program through from start to finish.”
Chase also says that the Mock Trial program at Hyannis’s Sturgis Charter Public School, where young students get a close up view of our legal system by taking part in a mock trial, was a joy to watch. “Pat was just phenomenal in that program and it left a lifelong impression on all the kids,” says Chase.
Matt Bresette, a young attorney and partner at Nutter McClennan & Fish, worked with Butler on several of the Mock Trial programs. “It was really great watching Pat with those kids,” says Bresette, who notes that Butler was a mentor to him for many years. “In all the years that I worked with Pat, I never once saw him lose his temper or be anything less than 100 percent professional,” says Bresette. “There have been many times in my life, both professionally and personally, when I have thought, ‘How would Pat handle this?’ He has made me a better person.”
Bresette says that the loss of Butler has been emotionally traumatic to the law firm, yet many of Butler’s coworkers have found solace and comfort in expanding their own volunteer efforts in the community. “It is directly because of Pat that I have gotten involved in numerous nonprofits as both a board member and a volunteer,” says Bresette, who is a board member of the Cape Cod Times Needy Fund, Cape Cod Child Development, and Barnstable Civic Association. Eliza Cox, who came to Nutter as a law school intern and who worked closely with Butler as a zoning and land-use attorney, says that Butler’s talent as a mentor was “exceptional.”
“Pat really understood the importance of mentoring,” says Cox, an associate with the firm. “As an intern, I learned so much—he took me to meetings and I participated in conference calls. At the end of the internship, he actually let me present to one of the zoning boards in Mashpee. It was just an exciting opportunity for a 27-year-old intern and it was an excellent teaching experience.”
Inspired by Butler, who has long been recognized as one of the Cape’s foremost land use attorneys, Cox chose the same legal field. “It is a nice mix of being involved in town issues, doing legal research, but also furthering a vision for a community,” says Cox who notes that she, like Bresette, was motivated by Butler’s example to get involved with several nonprofits in her hometown of Barnstable. “Taking inspiration from Pat, I’ve joined the YMCA board, the Sturgis Library board, the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce. and the Rotary Club,” says Cox. “Like Pat, I take great pride being involved with the community.”
Cox notes that like Bresette and Chase, she was honored to be part of the committee who organized the first Patrick M. Butler Golf Tournament, which raised more than $50,000. The funds from the tournament—which will be an annual event from now on—will be given to “organizations that embody Patrick’s lifelong commitment to reach out to all members of the community, with special emphasis on developing young people into excellent citizens, improving healthcare, and strengthening families,” according to the Butler Fund’s mission statement. “It was wonderful to be part of a group raising funds for a cause that is so important to Pat’s family,” says Cox.
Peter Meyer, publisher of the Cape Cod Times, says that his best friend was a tireless volunteer for more organizations than people are aware of, including the United Way, the Genesis Fund, Osterville’s St. Peters Church, Hyannisport’s St. Andrews Church, and the Cape Cod Times Needy Fund. According to Meyer, Butler set an example of civic leadership almost unmatched on Cape Cod. “Pat led the kind of life we should all aspire to,” says Meyer. “He was devoted to his family, to his friends, and to his community above all else.”
For information on the Patrick M. Butler Charitable Fund, go to www.patrickmbutler.org.
Susan Dewey is managing editor of Cape Cod Life Publications.