Richard “Rich” Thomas Butterfield Sr.

January 21, 1951­ – September 6, 2021

Richard “Rich” Thomas Butterfield Sr. of Spokane WA whistled, danced and sang his way into our Lord’s loving arms on September 6, 2021 where we can only imagine he was greeted with the biggest smile and most welcoming hug ever. Richard was born in Chippewa Falls, WI to parents Thomas and Xeliah Butterfield on January 21, 1951. Richard was the second born of 12 children. At a very young age he and his older sister Ruth took on the responsibility of raising their younger siblings. For many years they took their buckets to the local farms and picked whatever was in season to earn enough money to keep them all together. When it came to true love Richard married the love of his life Johna Giltner on September 8, 1970. Together they raised four amazing and beautiful children to be even more beautiful and amazing adults. Richard cherished his family and their bond as a family was and still is fierce. To his children he was and will always be “Pops.” Their house was always full of love, laughter, and learning. As their children grew, Pops knew exactly how to recognize, nurture, and encourage each of them and their many interests and talents. Even when it meant watching his baby daughter grow up and share his sense of adventure to live in faraway places such as Australia and New York. Richard was an extremely hard worker; he was young at heart and always took time out to play. It didn’t matter how busy he was… if the grandkids stopped by you can bet Pops dropped it all for a moment to play, laugh and build memories with each of them. One of Richard’s many talents was his mechanical ability and his ability to turn a wrench and fix anything. This skillset came in handy when paired with his love for building and driving fast race cars. Richard drove race car number 51. He was an exceptional driver, and throughout the years, he earned many first-place trophies on both the Oval and Figure 8 tracks at Stateline Speedway. Richard never wanted to miss a race even if it meant that he would “borrow” the engine from his wife’s car to run at night and quickly return it so she could go to work the next day. Richard passed that passion and skill set down to his children. There was never a prouder father then when he would watch his sons race on the same track. When Rich would race against his son(s), he never let them win on purpose; they had to earn it! He was a proud father who would always celebrate their victories alongside them! Richard’s fearlessness and drive did not stop on the track. His honesty, integrity and love of people made it easy for Richard and Johna to build and run successful businesses throughout the years where their valued and appreciated customers became their beloved and treasured friends. These businesses included: Auto Tops Plus, Triple R Auction, and JJ’s Estate and Auction Sales. Richard had a generous heart and if there was someone in need or a family member who needed a job, he would always do his best to put them to work or train them in the skill so they could go out and make their own successes. Either way Richard made sure you were never hungry or stranded on the side of the road. Richard loved giving back to the community and was often the one volunteering his auctioning talents to help raise money for many of the outstanding nonprofit organizations like the “Building Dreams Auction Fundraiser” which helps raise funds and awareness for Spokane’s at-risk youth programs. Richard also built bonds and memories with the extended family as well. Richard loved family gatherings especially if it meant we were playing cards, which was always met with tons of stories, love, and laughter! Richard’s laughter was infectious; if he started laughing then in no time, we were all laughing and even when we forgot what we were laughing about to begin with, we knew that it was joyous and filled with love. Richard’s love was unconditional, loyal, encouraging, and appreciative. He found value in anything and everything and most importantly, even if a person couldn’t find value in themself, he would always help them see it. Pops, we will miss you terribly! Thank you for the legacy you built for us. We will cherish and hold it in our hearts forever.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents Tom and Hexie, siblings Walter, Cheryl, Stanley, Kevin, and Ruth. He is survived by his wife of 51 years Johna, their sons, Rich (Amy) Butterfield Jr, Guy (Michelle) Butterfield, Bryan (Kerrie) Butterfield and daughter Tanya Jo Butterfield. Grandchildren: Richard “Trey” Butterfield III, Allison, Ashtyn, Guy (Brenna), Harlie, Daniel, Kaylee, Kristina, Kaitlin and Khloe and 4 great grandchildren with another on the way. Siblings: Brothers Tom (Kellie) Butterfield, Rusty Butterfield, Debbie Wheeler, Diana Thompson, Suzie Davis, Shirley (Paul) Schmidt, as well as several nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles and forever in-laws Earl Glaspie Sr, Kimm Butterfield and by his favorite niece aka his 5th child Angie Glaspie (Mike) Hohman.
A Celebration of a Life Filled with Love was already held in Spokane Valley.

To honor Richard, in lieu of flowers, the family ask that you Stand for the Flag, Support Our Troops, Dance a Little More, Stress a Lot Less, Be Kind To Each Other, Help Out Your Neighbors and Recognize that even though we have differences, no matter what they are, we can still get along.