Rian Butler, of Hull, Ma, previously Warwick, RI, born on June 27, 1955 in Oakland, Ca to Betsy and Frank Butler, passed away peacefully on May 28, 2018 in Boston surrounded by family and friends. Rian served in the Air Force before traveling to India, later working as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley - Butler Group.
He is survived by a wide circle of friends and family; his loving wife Rebecca-Starr Butler (Price), brother Kevin Butler; sister, Debi Carleton; brother in law, Jim Carleton, niece, Alexandra Butler and his grand-niece Noelle June Carleton, born on his birthday this year; and nephews, Dan Carleton, Reagan Butler, Josh Parisi, Nick Parisi, and grand-nephew, William Parisi.
Rian was a self-taught scholar of classical antiquity, art history, architecture, philosophy, and theology, was an avid hiker, swimmer, and former motorcyclist. Rian traveled to Italy to wander Roman ruins and sumptuous churches and museums twice a year with his wife for 2 decades, and loved cuisine and espresso, and opera, plays, ballet, and the symphony, and New Orleans culture and the deserts and mountains of Arizona, the Caribbean, Dublin, London, Paris, and Berlin. His nickname was Raganuga ("spontaneous attraction to God" in sanskrit) at ISKCON. Rian was an active member of Big Book A.A. for 27 years, helping countless people in recovery.
He was deeply loved by all for his sense of humor, his intelligence, his insight, his energy and enthusiasm for life in the face of incredible adversity, his blend of gravitas and joie de vie, and his appreciation of beauty. Rian will be terribly missed by the many souls he moved in his 62 years but we are all the better for having loved him.
Donations can be made to the Rian Butler Memorial Brain Aneurysm Fund: http://give.bafound.org/goto/rianbutler. A celebration of his life will be held on July 21 from 1-5 pm at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham, Ma - contact Rebecca for info: [email protected]