Daniel R. Butler
Daniel R. Butler, of Media, and a former longtime resident of Wallingford, died unexpectedly on February 5. He was 87.
Dan was the only child of Gordon and Miriam (Cahill) Butler of Marion, Ohio, who both predeceased him. He was also a wonderful husband and father, a successful businessman, a mentor, and a quiet philanthropist.
Born and raised in the rural town of Mt. Victory, Ohio, Dan graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1954 after double-majoring in journalism and history. During college, he participated in ROTC, reaching the rank of second lieutenant by the time he graduated. After college, between 1954 and 1957, he served as a pilot in the US Air Force, carrying paratroopers in C-119 transport planes. Returning to Ohio after his military service, Dan worked in the admissions office at Ohio Wesleyan while attending business school at Ohio State University in the evenings. The decision to return to work at Ohio Wesleyan changed the course of his life, as he met a smart and beautiful student there, named Linda. She was assisting in the same office, as a work study student. The couple married in 1960. In 1961, Dan accepted a job with Wellington Management Company in Philadelphia. In 1962, he received his MBA. At Wellington, Dan played an instrumental role in the growing mutual fund industry, working for 12 years under Jack Bogle, who later founded Vanguard.
While attending Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 1973, Dan was inspired to start his own business, which he did the following year with his wife Linda, operating out of an extra bedroom in their home. Their product was the weekly “Butler Money Fund Report.” It was the first publication to track the holdings of specific money market funds and to report on industry changes in the emerging money market fund marketplace. He sold the newsletter several years later. Renamed “iMoneyNet Money Fund Report,” it is still published today.
In 1975, Dan took the CEO position at the privately held Corporation Service Company, which provides incorporation services for companies looking to incorporate in Delaware. Over the next 38 years, with the help of exemplary employees, Dan steadily led the growth of the company and retired as chairman in 2013. Thereafter, he served as an emeritus member of the company’s board until his death. He was proud that the firm won the accolade of “Best Place to Work” in Delaware and several of its other office locations for many years running. In 2013, Dan was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
In addition to serving his country, Dan shared his talents within his community by serving two terms as Nether Providence Township Commissioner (an elective office), and as Judge of Elections. He taught Sunday School and served as the Finance Committee Chairman of both the Swarthmore Methodist Church and the Old Mill in Rose Valley. For many years, Dan served as a member of the National Constitution Center’s board. He was also a two-term member of the Riddle Village retirement community’s board and belonged to both the Union League of Philadelphia and the Wilmington Club.
Friends, colleagues, and family alike will remember Dan’s self-effacing and wry humor; his gentle teasing; his unpretentious steadiness; his integrity; his kind and thoughtful mentorship of colleagues and employees at all levels; and his bemused and deep commitment to his large, beloved family, of whom he was very proud.
Dan is survived by his beloved spouse and trusted life partner of 60 years, Linda Zehring Butler; his children and their partners and spouses, Lisa Butler (Daniel Henderson), Jeffrey D. Butler (Sarah Reinecke), Douglas R. Butler (Luanne), and Gretchen Butler Clayton (Jay); and his 11 grandchildren.
Due to the pandemic, there are no plans for a service at this time. The family gratefully offers the names of two organizations for memorial donations in Dan’s name: the National Constitution Center (Philadelphia), in recognition of his love of history; or Ohio Wesleyan University (Delaware, Ohio), an institution that prepared him for his incredible life.
