John Duane Butcher

John Duane Butcher, 68, of Fairbury, died May 8, 2024. Born December 5, 1955, in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Donald Butcher and Patsy Butcher Dittmar.  He married Lori Hellbusch on April 26, 1980.

John was creative and had a wide range of interests. He was proud of his 47 years working at Endicott Clay Products. John had 3 model railroads, one being a garden railroad. He built numerous buildings and engines for them. John made pottery for many years and sold them at craft shows. He also made leather crafts and loved working with wood. He joined a model rocket club and built over 30 rockets and enjoyed launching them. He also enjoyed collecting coins and stamps for over 50 years. John made many things for his family that will be cherished, including furniture items and most of the home he and his family lived in for 30 years. He joined the Blue River Regulators, a cowboy action shooting club, where he was able to bring his talents to make holsters, knives and many other things and made a lot of dear friends.  John enjoyed building shooting sets to expand on the group’s gun range. They held shooting matches there and he spent some of the most enjoyable times of his life there.

He is survived by his wife; daughters Stefanie (Butcher) Goforth (Chris Goforth) and Staci (Butcher) Vo (Thien Vo); grandchildren Jude and Makenzie Goforth and Daisy Vo; sister Doris (Dodi) Jorgensen (Rob Craig) and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

A Celebration of John’s life will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, May 17, 2024, at Faith Lutheran Church in Fairbury with Rev. Ken Hart officiating.The family will greet friends on Thursday evening from 5 - 7 at the funeral home.  Memorials may be given to the family for a charitable donation to be made in John’s memory at a later date. Gerdes-Meyer Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements. www.gerdesmeyerfh.com