Dr. Henry Harper Butterworth Jr.

Henry Harper Butterworth, Jr. M.D. passed away peacefully moments after having his children by his side, on July 13, 2013 at the age of 85. Born in Atlanta, GA in 1927 to Henry Harper Butterworth, Sr. and Lucy Kate Clark Butterworth, he spent much of his youth working the soda fountain and delivering prescriptions for his father’s pharmacy in Atlanta, GA. In 1945, he graduated from Atlanta Boys High School, having already become an accomplished trumpeter. He played the trumpet in the newly formed Atlanta Youth Symphony, later to be renamed The Atlanta Symphony.

Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Army and was immediately chosen for the ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program), studying at Clemson University. One year into his service the program ended, allowing him to spend his remaining service time doing what he loved best — playing his trumpet with the remnants of The Glenn Miller band entertaining the allied troops at officer's clubs, USO’s and hospitals throughout Europe.

After completing his military service, he attended Emory College graduating with an undergraduate degree in 1950 and then the Medical College of Georgia in 1954. He spent the next four years in further training in Internal Medicine at Piedmont Hospital and Georgia Baptist Hospital, subsequently setting up his Internal Medicine practice on Church Street in Decatur, Georgia.

‘Doc’ was known as a brilliant physician who practiced medicine for 25 years. He was highly regarded by his colleagues, serving as the Chief of Medicine at DeKalb General Hospital and was elected president of the DeKalb Medical Association. In 1979 he retired from private practice to finish his career as a Social Security Medical Adjudicator for the State of Georgia.

In addition to his musical talent, he was an avid fisherman and was involved with numerous hobbies requiring a sharp eye and steady hands. These hobbies included; painting, woodworking, hand tying fishing rods and flies, as well as crafting beautiful grandfather clocks and other furniture which he fashioned from rare and beautiful hardwoods found around the world. He was a member of Atlanta BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elk) and Pi Kappa Alpha National Fraternity, as well as a lifetime member of the NRA (National Rifle Association) and Republican Party.

An incredible mind, he was known to have a photographic memory giving him the ability to permanently capture lectures and academic material upon hearing or seeing only one time. His ability to make all A’s throughout medical school without studying made him somewhat of an irritating phenomenon to his fellow classmates. In particular, he received increased backlash when he was the only student to earn a perfect score on an exam when he confidently answered a trick question with “I have never been presented with this information,” while his fellow students struggled to create an incorrect answer.

He is predeceased by his wife of 25 years, Evelyn Goette Boyd Butterworth. He is survived by his brother Clark J. Butterworth (Lillian), Eatonton; three children, Susan Kay Paul (Joe), Cumming, Henry Harper Butterworth III (Julie), St Paul, Minnesota and Pamela Butterworth Bartz, Suwanee, two step-children Michael F. Boyd, Palmetto and William T. Boyd (Carla) Hiram; and six grandchildren, Brian Hart, Michael Hart, Charles H. Butterworth, Taylor Bartz, Cassidy Bartz, Christopher Bartz, and three step-grandchildren Heather Ball, Christa Boyd, Carly Boyd, and great grandchild Olivia Ball.

The family will receive guests Saturday, July 20 beginning at 11 at H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, 1020 Spring Street Atlanta, Georgia, 30309, with a funeral service to follow at noon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in the name of Dr. Henry Harper Butterworth to the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) at JDRF Georgia Chapter, 3525 Piedmont Road, NE Building 6, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305.