Gilbert Miles Butler left this realm in the early morning hours of November 17, 2018.
Miles is survived by his best friend and life partner of 34 years, Patricia Blackman; brother, Loring Butler and his wife, Peggy; son, Gabriel Butler; daughter, Savannah Butler McGough and her husband, Lance; granddaughter, Delaney Quinn McGough, and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lavada and Gilbert Marvin Butler, and his brother, Talmadge Butler.
Miles’s intellect was keen; he was valedictorian of his class at Sylvania High School, and a basketball hotshot who later walked on to the Auburn basketball team.
Miles served his country as a Marine, a Navy meteorologist (Hurricane Hunters), and a Management Analyst for the U.S. Army’s Aviation Command in St. Louis (Apache helicopters) and its Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal (computers).
Miles retired in 1995 and was able to spend the rest of his life doing what he loved: reading voraciously, watching baseball and other sports fanatically, cooking experimentally, and bird-watching and gardening, especially nurturing milkweed and other butterfly- and bird-friendly plants.
His cremains will be scattered by the family. In lieu of flowers or donations, Miles would want you to raise a glass of your favorite spirit and take in the night sky. He so loved the stars.
