Obituary of Rev. Roy A. Butler, Sr.

Rev. Roy A. Butler Sr., 66, of Maplewood died Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009, in Overlook Hospital, Summit. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral service at Calvary Baptist Church, 66 S. Grove St., East Orange, on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 9:30 a.m. Entombment will be at Hollywood Cemetery, Union. Rev. Butler will lie in state at First Maplewood Baptist Church, 106 Burnett Ave., Maplewood, on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and at Calvary Baptist Church Saturday at 9 a.m. until time of service. Arrangements are by the Preston Funeral Home, South Orange. For more information or to send condolences, please visit prestonfuneralhome.net. Born in Port Gibson, Miss., Rev. Butler lived there and in New York City before moving to Maplewood 21 years ago. He founded the First Maplewood Baptist Church in 1998, where he served as senior pastor until his death. He also was pastor at True Vine Baptist Church, Asbury Park. Rev. Butler earned a B.S. in sociology from Stillman College in Alabama and a master of divinity from Drew University, Madison. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and was a sergeant in the Air Force from 1965 to 1968. He was a human resources supervisor at AT&T in Basking Ridge, where he worked for 31 years. Rev. Butler was a moderator for the Essex Association of American Baptist Churches of New Jersey; he was also part of the Maplewood-South Orange Ecumenical Committee, a member of the Maplewood-South Orange Coalition on Race and a volunteer chaplain at St. Barnabas Medical Center. The beloved husband of Rev. Marsha E. Hackett Butler, he was the devoted father of Belena R., Roy A. II, and Jennifer E. Butler; and dear grandfather of Nina Rankin. He also is survived by many brothers and sisters. In lieu of flowers, contributions to First Maplewood Baptist Church would be appreciated.