David Butler ’52

Portrait
Image
Body

Dave, whose father Francis was in the Class of 1919, came to Princeton after study at St. Paul Academy and Andover.

He majored at SPIA and joined Tower, the Unitarian Fellowship, Freshman Glee Club, and the Minnesota Club. He roomed with Rick Gillespie, Bob Clark, and Tom Dosdall.

Dave served in the Army as a company commander, then earned a law degree at Harvard in 1957 before launching his career in Denver with Holland & Hart, where he became managing partner and, after retiring in 1995, of counsel. He worked with voluntary groups making legal services available to the poor.

Dave died Aug. 13, 2023. He is survived by children Anne, Larry, Molly, Peter, and Kate.

No responses yet

Join the conversation

Plain text

Full name and Princeton affiliation (if applicable) are required for all published comments. For more information, view our commenting policy. Responses are limited to 500 words for online and 250 words for print consideration.

Paw in print

Image
The October 2025 cover of PAW, featuring an illustration of a woman dressed like Superman, but the S on her chest is a dollar sign.
The Latest Issue

October 2025

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.