Tad Butt's (father) tribute to Jason given at Jason's funeral

Tad Butt's (father) tribute to Jason given at Jason's funeral

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. On behalf of our family I would like to thank all of you for your love and support during this difficult time. Your prayers and love have been of such great comfort to all of us and your service on our behalf will never be forgotten. From the depths of my heart please accept our family’s gratitude and love.

While it is difficult to speak at your oldest son’s funeral, I consider it a great honor and privilege to express my admiration and respect for Jason and to speak to each of you about the many things I learned from him and the things he wished me to teach you.

My wise friend from China, Jon Ling, once told me, “To measure a man’s life you do not look directly at him or the things he has said, but instead you look around him. Much like judging a spring of water, you look to see if everything is green and that the trees, flowers and animals are all flourishing because of his clean clear water. He also said “to look at the spring in times of drought and see if it still gives its water freely or dries up in the hot summer heat”.

In looking back over Jason’s life, it is clear to me what kind of spring and the purity of water he provided all of those who knew and loved him. Over the past weeks I have been so touched by the numerous letters, calls and e-mails from around the world. Using John Ling’s scale let us take moment to examine Jason and his life.

When Jason was a little boy, I was always so touched by his prayers, he would pray that the little birds and animals would be warm and have enough food, he would pray for the people in the world that were sick or sad. He would ask his Heavenly Father to help people be nicer to each other. Many times I felt of his special spirit and shed tears as we knelt at his bedside. Unlike many of us as we grow older, Jason’s soft heart never changed. When tragedy would strike his friends, family, or in the world at large, he felt the sadness and strife very deeply. I remember 9/11, the day Malaysian airline went missing, etc. It tore Jason up that people could hurt each other in that way. I worried about him all his life, that he was too good and his soft heart could not stand up to the evils of this world.

As Jason grew up he loved animals. He was constantly bringing homes snakes, turtles and lizards that he and his brother Jake caught up on the rims. They would place them in the window well of their bedroom, so that could watch then from their beds like a terrarium. One time they caught a rattlesnake and put it in our freezer to see what would happen. Somehow the snake escaped and was never found. When we moved we left the freezer behind and never told the new owners the story. One afternoon when Jason was about 25, a car hit a dog after church. It was a mom with her puppies. Jason took one home and helped the rest find homes. Baxter and Jason shared many great years together.

Jason loved the snow and the peace of the mountains. He told me that his best days were just he and his friends, new snow and the mountain. I spent many days watching him and his friends snowboard at Red Lodge. If we got to the mountain early in the morning, before the lift was open he and his brothers would hike to the top of lazy M and ride down in the untouched snow. Over those years he made many great friends, they called themselves Team Sprock, and their mantra was no competition, everyone welcome. Most all of that group is here today, and they have supported each other over the 20 years since.

Many of them have spoken to me over the years and even more recently about the impact Jason had on their lives. They have told me how Jason never judged or criticized any of them, that if they had no money he would give them his, no food, he would feed them, no place to live they would sleep on Jason's floor. Some of them told me they feel they would not be alive without Jason. Many have said they would not be the people they are without his unconditional love.

Many of his friends have shared their thoughts with me this past week. Matt told me he didn’t really believe in God , but after being with Jason, he felt he began to know God because of the way Jason treated him. Brandon told me that every day he would wake with the picture of Jason’s smile in his heart. Robbie said, “Jason was so strong that he saved me from my life of unfortunate situations and let me grow around a family that showed me that happiness is real. Smase saved my life. Captain said, “ Jason never preached or corrected, he simply and quietly lead us and loved us, he was the first to get a real job, buy a house, get married, have kids and now he has even taught us how to die with grace”

Among all his great friends, his closest one was his brother Jacob, They were inseparable even until the day of Jason’s passing. I never saw them fight (except for fun) nor argue. They defended and protected each other and loved each other more that I have ever seen any brothers do. They shared a small room until they went to college or got married, even though we had rooms they could have moved into.

Jason also loved his little sister, Jayme more than one can imagine. He took her everywhere, protected her and loved her through difficult times. When Jayme suffered with a brain injury, Jason suffered with her and constantly offered to take her pain.

I cannot remember a time that I had to punish Jason. I never remember him being mad, disobedient or disappointing me in any way. Although he was not perfect, he was as close to perfection as any son a man could wish for. He loved and treated his mother with kindness and respect and always tried his best to make her happy. Over his teenage years, so many of his friend’s parents thanked me, for Jason and Jacob’s efforts to be good examples and that they knew if their sons or daughters with the Butt boys they would return home safely.

Jason and his dog Baxter took some time to find the perfect girl to marry. When he brought a beautiful catholic girl home to meet us, we all quickly fell in love with Tessa. We worried about her not being Mormon, but Jason said he had prayed about her and God had told him to marry Tessa and that she was the right one. Tessa wrote a letter to me that I have kept framed in my room, telling me that if we would allow her into our family, she would do her very best to be the best wife, mother and daughter she could be. Shortly after they were married by President Griffin, Tessa and one of Jason's best friends, John took the missionary discussions and they were both baptized the same day. A year later Tessa and Jason were sealed together, along with their two little girls Ryleigh and Bentley in the Billings temple. Not long after that John and Rachel followed suit and were married in the temple as well. I have always smiled as I watched how much Jason and Tessa loved each other, always holding hands, kissing softly, teasing each other kindly. They were always the cutest couple ever. Karen and I have had many wonderful days, dinners, vacations spent with them and their children. Watching Tessa take care of Jason this past month, showering him, dressing him, feeding him and finally laying next to him in the hospital bed, for days telling Jason it was OK to go and how much she loved him was one of the most touching things I have experienced in my life. Tessa has kept her word and their love is pure and eternal.

Soon after being sealed they welcomed Preslie “pickle” into their family. Then 3 years ago, on the day Jason finished rehab from his first brain surgery, Tessa announced she was pregnant with Maverick. At night he loved to “snuggle" with his kids and run through the sprinklers and build snow hills in their yard to slide on. He just started this year to teach them how to snowboard and also bought Ry a surfboard. It will be up to all of us to remind his children not only about how great of a man Jason was, but that his love for them was boundless-“ more than all the fishes in the sea and all the stars in sky” as he would tell them.

It has been such a privilege to have a son like Jason. Each father wishes for his son to do great things and be a better man than himself. Jason was my better in almost every aspect of life. I learned much more from him than I ever thought him. I have always prided myself on being a kind and giving person, but as I had the opportunity to serve with Jason, I learned of a whole new level of charity. Serving as bishop, Jason became my right hand man, along with my two wonderful councilors, Rick and Bill. Many, many times, Jason would accompany me to call on the needy of our ward. I would often find myself dealing with administrative matters, like helping with money or rent, only to look at Jason, teaching the family the gospel or telling them of his and God’s love. He would always sit on the floor with the kids and be teaching them and loving them.

As transient bishop I took Jason to the rescue mission to call of some people in difficult times. As we enter the facility many of the homeless called out to Jason and went and hugged him and he visited with them about how they were and asked how he could help. I was amazed. I asked Jason, “how do you know all these people by name?” He explained to me that since he worked downtown, he would stop each day and talk to the homeless and get to know them and see what he could do to help them. Everywhere we traveled in the world my heart would melt as I would see Jason sit on the ground with the homeless, the handicapped, the poor, and not just give of his money, but show them his love and ask them about their lives. Jason found great joy in this service and was a stunning example for all of us who knew him.

One of my proudest moments as Jason’s father came when I was serving in the branch presidency in Lame deer. Brother Shotgun had a stroke. He was taken to the Billings clinic and his large family joined him. There was a lot of sadness and stress as Brother Shotgun struggled to cling on to life. His six children including a son, who was five, that could not be consoled. Sister Shotgun had called our home and asked if I could come and give her husband a blessing, but Karen told her I was out of the country. Jason offered to go and called John who had just received the priesthood to join him. Karen went to the hospital and related the story to me latter. At Jason's young age, he came into the room and talked to the family and listen to their desires for their father to be healed. The room was very full of extended family from the Cheyenne reservation. John anointed brother Shotgun and then Jason gave him a sweet blessing, directed by the spirit he told brother Shotgun it was time to go home to his Father in Heaven and released him from this earthly state. Initially after the blessing the family was in shock and upset, But Jason asked them to sit down. He sat their young boy on his lap and explained where his father would soon go and a simple but pure version of the plan God has for each of us. Sister Shotgun later told me that it was if the Savior was there himself, loving and teaching them. She told me she had never seen a young man with such courage and kindness and that I should be a very proud father.

Jason loved the waves and the Sea, especially Hawaii. As Jacob talked about, Jason loved Hawaiian culture as well and being there with his family was a great source of joy for him. He loved to ride the waves at Waimea bay. As the waves would grow, at some point it would only be Jason and dark skinned Hawaiians out in water, as the rest of the white guys, including me would chicken out. He saw the waves an example of life, in that when the big waves came you had to face them and dive deep under and through them and not try and run, He was fond of saying “when in doubt, paddle out” Late in his journey, he said it to me a few times and gave me a Shaka. He loved the Aloha spirit and he loved his kind Hawaiian- soft hearted friends. Yesterday, as we dressed Jason in his temple clothes, the only other things he wore were his wedding ring, another ring that Tessa had given him when they were dating and his Makau or fish hook necklace, that our Hawaiian friend Brother Thimm had made for him.

Jason life was one of happiness and love. He loved his wife, his children, his friend , his mother and father. He loved his dogs, he loved the snow and the ocean, 80’s music, spicy Thai food and God. During his recent struggle, he never complained nor showed fear. He taught his children and comforted them and all of us and explained that he was going to prepare a place for us in heaven, He asked us to be good, go to the temple and be sealed and to be happy.

Over the past weeks I have reflected on how much I learned from his great example, how much I love him, how much I will miss his smile and all the other great things we shared. I am confident in the truth of the things Jason knew and also I testify that they are true. Jason knew that the purpose of this life was to learn to follow God’s commandments, to learn to love and serve others. He knew that we are Heavenly Father's children, and that He sent his son Jesus Christ to teach and redeem us through his example and sacrifice. He knew full well that we can be families together forever though the Grace of God and through the blessings found in the temple.

Near the end, he asked me to make sure and take care of his family. One of the last things he did in this life was to buy them a new home, so that we would all be near each other and so they would have a good school and be safe. He refused morphine so he could sign the documents to buy it for them. Shortly after signing he lost consciousness. It was so fitting that the last thing he did in this life was to secure a good home for his family.

He told me that he would be waiting under a big tree, with his dog Baxter for all of us, and that he expected us to do the things we needed to do in our lives, so we all could join him as a family. That it would be in the twinkling of an eye that we would be together again. He said he was not sad, nor scared and that he would do his best to help us all from heaven. Many of us have already felt of Jason's spirit since his passing, and I am confident he will always be with us. He told me to be happy.

It is my sincere hope that we each will rededicate ourselves to following the Savior’s and Jason’s example, that we will be kind and obedient so that when the day comes when we are to leave this earth we each will join them both under that beautiful tree surrounded by the green and flowers that only a spring of pure water can provide.