Claire Titus and William Wilson Samuel Butler

DR. WILLIAM WILSON SAMUEL BUTLER, son of SARAH POAGE CALDWELL and WILLIAM WILSON SAMUEL BUTLER, was born January 21, 1924 in Virginia,⁵⁶ and died February 6, 1997 in Roanoke, Virginia.^{56, 5336} He is buried in Evergreen Burial Park, Roanoke, Virginia.⁴⁵⁶

He married CLAIRE TITUS on June 11, 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland.¹⁰⁷⁵⁷ She was born April 4, 1926, and died January 12, 2023 in Roanoke, Virginia.¹⁰⁷⁶²

• Descendant Reports
  • William Scott Descendant Report (Ancestor of William W. S. Butler)

Children of CLAIRE TITUS and DR. WILLIAM WILSON SAMUEL BUTLER:

1. Daughter
2. Son
3. Son

Roanoke Times, May 29, 1949¹⁰⁷⁵⁹

Miss Titus, Dr. Butler To Be Married June 11

Judge and Mrs. Earl Remington Titus have issued invitations to the marriage of their daughter, Claire, to Dr. William Wilson Samuel Butler, III, on Saturday, June 11, at 4:30 o'clock in St. John's Episcopal Church, Mount Washington, Baltimore, Md.

A reception will be held immediately after the ceremony at 1604 Terraces Rd., Baltimore.

Dr. Butler, son of Dr. and Mrs. W. W. S. Butler, Jr., of 858 Wildwood Rd., S. W., is a graduate of Jefferson High School VPI and Johns-Hopkins University. He is now resident physician at Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

After July 1, the couple will reside at 1938 McElderry St., Baltimore.

Roanoke Times, June 12, 1949¹⁰⁷⁵⁷

Claire Titus Is Married

Becomes Bride of W. W. S. Butler, III

Miss Claire Titus became the bride of Dr. W. W. S. Butler, III, in a ceremony performed in Baltimore, Md., Saturday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock in the St. John's Episcopal Church, with the Rev. RObert Lee Bast, rector of the Church, officiating.

The bride is the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Earl Remington Titus of Pomeroy, Ohio, and the groom is the son of Dr. and Mrs. W. W. S. Butler of Roanoke.

Miss Bonnie Holley of Huntington, W. Va., was maid of honor, and Caldwell Butler of Roanoke, brother of the groom, served as best man.

Ushers were L. J. Boxley, Jr. and Perkins Hazlegrove of Roanoke, Richard West of Lynchburg, and Dr. M. Lee Williams, Dr. Robert C. Hagan and Carberry Jones of Baltimore.

The bride wore a dress of white marquisette with a fingertip length veil. She carried her mother's white Prayer Book topped with an orchid.

Miss Holley wore a white organdie over blue taffeta gown and carried a nosegay of pink and blue flowers.

Following the ceremony, a reception was held at the home of Mrs. Marshall Jones at 1604 Terrace Rd., Mt. Washington, Baltimore. After the first of July, Dr. and Mrs. Butler will be at home at 1938 McElderry St., Baltimore.

Roanoke Times, February 7, 1997¹⁰⁷⁶¹

Clinic Co-Founder Butler Dies At 73

As soon as he got out of the hospital, urologist Bill Butler planned to show his boyhood friend and medical colleague, Dr. Robert Keeley, all about digital photography, his latest hobby.

But Dr. W. W. S. Butler III died Thursday morning of complications from a heart attack he suffered several days earlier, maybe as long ago as Saturday while he was still in Snowmass, Colo., skiing and taking pictures.

Butler, who was 73, worked Monday morning at Jefferson Surgical Clinic, which he and Keeley helped found in 1957. In between patients, he walked down the hall to see Keeley "professionally," his friend recalled Thursday. "He thought he was having indigestion. I wanted him to go on to the hospital then, but he said he had two more patients to see."

"He was pretty used to doing what he wanted to do," said Keeley, who first met Butler at Boy Scout Camp Powatan when they were 12.

After medical school, Keeley joined Butler and Butler's father, Dr. W.W.S. Butler Jr., who were members of a group planning to build a surgical clinic on Franklin Road Southwest.

The practice now employs 11 doctors and 36 staff members, many of them longtime workers, said clinic administrator Becky Radford, who worked with Butler for 27 years.

Butler was a grandson of Virginia Tech and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a clinical professor of urology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine from 1981 until his death. The family has asked that memorials take the form of donations to the Department of Urology Research Foundation at UVa.

Butler's medical credentials were equaled by his accomplishments in other areas. His colleagues said he had an insatiable curiosity and loved technology.

He was licensed as a ham radio operator at age 12, had the first computer at the surgical clinic and recently had immersed himself in digital photography.

Butler also still enjoyed scuba diving.

"If you ever lost your glasses at Smith Mountain Lake, he'd retrieve them for you," said a brother, Caldwell Butler, an attorney and retired congressman.

Gruff friendliness was a trait Butler shared with his younger brother, Caldwell, who said Bill Butler was "more frightening because he was big-framed." Some of Butler's friends even called him "Bull" because of his manner.

His deep voice and brisk way of speaking certainly caught the attention of professionals who appeared on complaint charges before the boards of Medicine or Medical Professions, to which he was appointed by Gov. George Allen in July 1994.

"He really enjoyed that," said Caldwell Butler. "It was his crowning achievement."

Caldwell Butler said he got to see his brother twice while he was in the hospital and that they talked about how there was no history of heart problems in their family.

"but we knew he'd done some damage to his heart. I really though that he was going to come out of this thing, though." Caldwell Butler said, "It's been a real shock for us all; but if he was going to be inhibited by his health, I don't think he would have liked that."

"Bill just had so many interests and so much energy. I never could understand how he could do so many things and still make a living, but he did," Caldwell Butler said.

He is also survived by his wife, Claire Titus Butler; two sons, Dr. William W.S. Butler IV and Dr. John Marshall Butler Sr., both of Roanoke; a daughter, Mary Claire Butler Little of Lakeland, Fla.; and seven grandchildren.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church, Roanoke.

Roanoke Times, April 2, 2023¹⁰⁷⁶²

Claire Titus Butler

April 4, 1926 - January 12, 2023

Claire Titus Butler passed on Thursday, January 12, 2023 in Roanoke, Virginia.

Originally from Ohio, Claire was the youngest child of Judge Earl Remington Titus and Mary Claire Giles Titus, a homemaker. Claire went to Baltimore, Maryland to attend Johns Hopkins Nursing School and graduated in June of 1947.

Claire continued to work as a Surgical Nurse at JH Hospital where she met and married William W. S. Butler III, MD, Urology (deceased). Several years later they moved to Roanoke so that he could practice Urology with his father, William W. S. Butler Jr., MD, Urology. Father and son were some of the founders of Jefferson Surgical Clinic, Roanoke, Virginia.

Their three children are Mery Claire Butler of Lakeland, Florida, W.W.S. Butler IV, MD, Urology (deceased) and John Marshall Butler Sr., MD, Urology of Roanoke, Virginia.

Claire is survived by Mery Claire's children, Gregory C. Little (Kate Koplan, MD), and Shelby Little (Caleb Stoddart); Helen Hern Butler, widow of Sam, and their two daughters, Claire Butler Kral (David), and Renee Butler Harrel (Adam), John's wife, Kimberly Macione Butler, his three sons, John M. Butler Jr., Lee W. Butler and Will W.S. Butler V, and John's two step daughters, Jane-Anna Caldwell Burfield (Christian) and Lilly Caldwell. Additionally, Claire is survived by six great-grandchildren.

Claire and Bill were one of first to have a cabin on Smith Mountain Lake as their home existed before APCO's Dam was completed, creating the lake. Claire did not enjoy water sports, preferring winter sports of ice skating and downhill skiing. After discovering the Colorado snow, Claire and Bill built a cabin in Snowmass Village for skiing, which the family fortunately continues to enjoy year-round.

Claire was involved with the Junior League of Roanoke, Roanoke Valley Garden Club, where she served as a past President and won several Lilly Show awards. She was a member of Roanoke Country Club, Hunting Hills Country Club, Shenandoah Club, and The Roanoke Assembly. She was a descendant of 1620 Mayflower passenger and Compact signer, Richard Warren. Claire had a sign in her home which read, "Behind every successful man, is a working woman."

After 1997 as a widow, Claire enjoyed volunteering for over a decade at the Discovery Shop of the American Cancer Society with a delightful group. Claire moved to Cherry Hill and treasured each of the CH residents.

Claire was proud of being a nurse. Her choice was to be buried with her Johns Hopkins Hospital Nursing Cap and pin in her hands. The family respectfully requests in lieu of flowers, donations would be welcome to the Development & Alumni Relations-Cierra Greene, John Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD.

On April 4, 2023, at 10 a.m. in the Evergreen Chapel, a Nightingale Nurse Retirement Service will be held immediately followed by a "Celebration of Life" with St. John's Episcopal Church Rector, Eric Long, presiding.