Brother Robert A. Butsch, 96

Brother Robert A. Butsch, 96

Brother Robert A. Butsch, 96, died on Sept. 13 in the Skilled Nursing Unit at Maryknoll, N.Y. He was a Maryknoll Brother for 69 years.

Robert Alfred Butsch was born in Schenectady on Oct. 28, 1928, one of five children of Alfred G. and Mary Santor Butsch. His parents were both active Catholics and encouraged their children in the practice of their faith. Bob attended public primary and high schools in Schenectady. He received a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, where he first felt a call to be a religious brother. He entered Maryknoll from St. Peter’s Cathedral parish in Erie, Pa. Later his family moved to Louisville, Ky.

After his novitiate training, he pronounced his First Oath on June 29, 1956, and took the religious name of Placid. Brother Butsch worked for seven years assisting Father Norman Batt, who was responsible for all the society’s construction in the United States. In 1963, he was assigned to Guatemala, where once again he was involved in construction planning and supervision. He joined a parish team in rural Guatemala in 1968, giving technical help to communities with sizable water and cable bridge projects. In 1971, he received permission to use his birth name, Bob. Brother Bob and Father Fern Gosselin opened a new mission in Ocotal, Nicaragua in 1972. While there, he assisted with parish work and with the formation of parish lay leaders. In July 1977, he was assigned to assist the Director of Brothers’ Formation. 

In July 1978, Brother Bob was assigned to a new unit to work in Yemen, Maryknoll’s first effort to work in an all-Muslim country. For three years he taught construction trades at a government rehabilitation home for boys. In 1983, he was part of the first Maryknoll group to work in Egypt, another predominantly Muslim country with a Christian population of just 10 percent. This unit was renamed the Middle East Unit in 1984.

During his service in Egypt, Brother Bob developed an interest in working with patients affected by Hansen’s Disease (HD), also known as leprosy. Under the guidance of George Clarkson, a visiting Englishman, he learned the craft of making orthopedic shoes to support their care. He became responsible for a protective footwear project, the first of its kind in Egypt. His shop and daily work was at Abu Zaabal, a 550-bed hospital for HD patients, 25 miles outside of Cairo. He also made once-a-month visits to many HD outpatient clinics in various parts of Egypt. Brother Bob was assisted by three men and five young men who were in training. All but one of the group were HD patients. Four of the trainees, after finishing their training and medical treatment, returned to their villages where they were provided with sewing machines and tools. They made and repaired footwear for townspeople and HD patients living in the vicinity. Brother Bob said, “Our group made hundreds of pairs of footwear each year, but probably the best thing I did out there was when I remembered to take time to talk and listen to the patients or drink tea with them when it was offered.”

Brother Bob served as the Africa/Middle East participant at the Mission Assembly held in Mexico in September 1993. He continued his work with HD patients in Egypt until he was assigned to the U.S. Region in July 1998 and was given retired status in September of that year. While he was still in Egypt, Brother Bob had been invited to spend six months in China to work with Hansen’s Disease patients and teach a team of people to fashion the protective footwear for which he was becoming well known. He first went to China in the beginning of 1999; but when the initial six-month period ended, he felt he still had much to do there, so he requested permission to extend his stay indefinitely. On Oct. 1, 1999, his assignment to the Hong Kong Region was formalized, and he continued his work there, albeit as a “Retired Maryknoller.” 

Brother Bob worked in the Sichuan Province in southwestern China in collaboration with a priest from the Korean Missionary Society, some Chinese Religious Sisters and some medical personnel from the Chinese government to develop the Medical Footwear Program for HD patients. He was a consultant for this program that included five different centers treating HD patients. Brother Bob reflected that he always enjoyed all his assignments and appreciated being part of a team. “Working with the victims of Hansen’s Disease was rewarding, especially when a bed-ridden patient became ambulatory, and when a patient’s wounds healed.”

In 2014, Brother Bob returned to the United States. He was assigned to the Senior Missioner Community in May of that year and took up residence at the Society Center at Maryknoll. He was appointed to the Pastoral Visitors Team in 2015 and again in 2019.

Brother Bob is survived by 10 nieces and nephews: Rick Butsch (Pam) of Jeffersonville, Ind., Kevin Kennedy (Christine) of North Franklin, Conn., Mary Fisher of Erie, Pa., Scott Kennedy (Laura) of Erie, Pa., Dan Kennedy (Janet) of Erie, Pa., Maureen Fink (Eric) of Erie, Pa., Beth Lunger (Dennis) of Albion, Pa., Tricia Barrett (Doug) of Glen Mills, Pa., Jeff Quinn (Lauri) of Daniel Island, S.C., and Tommi Main (Don) of Westfield, Ind.  He was predeceased by his sisters, Jean Kennedy and Patricia Quinn, and his brothers, Richard and Thomas Butsch.

A Mass of Christian Burial was concelebrated on Sept. 19 in the Queen of Apostles Chapel at the Maryknoll Society Center. According to his wishes, Brother Butsch was cremated following the Funeral Mass and his ashes were interred in the Maryknoll Society Columbarium.