Gerald “Jerry” L. Butts, 93, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, just one day after the City of Moline proclaimed Tuesday, Oct. 22, as “John Slover and Jerry Butts Day,” to honor the longtime Quad Cities leaders’ work in launching Renew Moline 35 years ago. Mr. Butts was 93.
Mr. Butts was a well-loved business and community leader known for helping lead the effort to bring downtown Moline back to life after the devastating Farm Crisis. Funeral services are at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, 6601 38th Ave, Moline. Visitation for this longtime Moline resident is 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, at Esterdahl.
“John and Jerry rallied support of the business community, refusing to accept that ‘fate’ was a strategy and instead, created an organization dedicated to promoting redevelopment. Today, Downtown Moline has vibrancy, excitement, and a bright future,” the proclamation read by Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati said.
Mr. Butts told the QCBJ he was grateful for Renew Moline’s founding and its effectiveness. In an interview for a Sept. 30 QCBJ cover story, he called Renew “probably my pride and joy because I was president for the first three years and we got an awful lot accomplished simply because the public sector was very generous. And Renew should be proud of the generosity that played into the development of Renew and everything that was accomplished.”
He also was grateful for the development driver’s longevity. “That’s the thing that pleases me most is that it just didn’t fail,” the Renew Moline co-founder added. It did so much more than that. It created $400 million in economic development in downtown Moline. Mr. Slover was the other co-founder.
Memorials to Renew
His family has asked that memorials be made to Renew Moline, which is not surprising given that next to that family, the downtown development organization has long been a central focus in his life.
Mr. Butts’ insurance business also was a fixture in his life and the city’s downtown since shortly after he attended Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, and Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and served in Army Intelligence in Alaska during the Korean Conflict, his obituary said.
After earning a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 1960, a year later he became a vice president at Moline-based Oakleaf-Tarbox Insurance, Inc. Mr. acquired full ownership in 1972 and changed its name to Oakleaf-Butts Agency, Inc. He sold it in 1995 and continued to work for what is now Cleveland Insurance Group for another nine years, until he retired at the age of 83. He also served the Independent Insurance Agents Association of Illinois as a past president.
In addition to Renew, Mr. Butts also was a dedicated member of the Rotary Club of Moline for 62 years, and was Rotarian of the Year in 2009. He also served on multiple boards and was president of Black Hawk College Foundation. He was a longtime member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Moline.
Survivors include son, Kevin (Robin) Butler of Barrington, Illinois; daughter, Kendra DiPaola of Princeton, New Jersey, daughter, Kathleen (Chris) Popp of Troy, Michigan; grandchildren, Lauren Butler, Karie Butler, David Butler, Marcus DiPaola, Anna DiPaola, Bryce Downing, Peyton Downing; brothers, Wesley (Margaret) of Bowie, Maryland, and Tom Butts of Decatur, Illinois.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sisters Patti Butts and Linda Butts. Memories may be shared online at www.esterdahl.com.
