Jeffrey Butzbach

Jeffrey Scott Butzbach, 63, of St. Joseph, passed away on Sunday, June 11, 2006, at his home. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 P.M., on Thursday, June 15, 2006, at Kerley-Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph, with Msgr. Eugene Sears officiating, and services performed by the St. Joseph Masonic Lodge # 437. Burial will follow at North Shore Memory Gardens, Coloma. Friends may visit with the family from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., on Wednesday, June 14, 2006, at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to the Tumor Tissue Donation Program, 333 Bostwick NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503; Hospice at Home, Inc., 4025 Health Park Lane, St. Joseph, MI 49085; or the Berrien County Cancer Service, 7301 Red Arrow Hwy, Stevensville, MI 49127. Friends may send the family a condolence message or sign the guest book on-line at www.starks-menchinger.com. Jeff was born to Vaughn and Mary Louise (Shawhan) Butzbach Snyder on May 1, 1943, in Benton Harbor. He graduated from Watervliet High School in 1961 and from Michigan State University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting. He served his country in the Army during the Vietnam War. Jeff was a C.P.A. and owned his own business in St. Joseph for over 20 years. Prior to starting his own business he was a partner in the firm Gerbel, Maki and Butzbach. He was President of the MSU Alumni Club of Berrien County and a member of the Blossomtime committee in St. Joseph where he frequently drove the Miss Blossomtime float in the annual parade. Jeff was the Chairman of the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph Joint Wastewater Treatment Board for many years. He served as Treasurer on the Soup Kitchen Board of Directors in Benton Harbor and was a member of the Krasel Art Center in St. Joseph. Jeff was a member of the St. Joseph Masonic Lodge # 437 and a board member of the Masonic Home in Alma, MI. Jeff was also a St. Joseph Rotarian and a member of both the St. Joseph Kiwanis Club and Elks Lodge # 541. Other involvements included Easter Seals and United Way of Southwestern Michigan. Jeff is survived by his sisters, Judith (John) Belt of San Antonio, TX and Jane (Robert) Allen of Traverse City, MI; step-sister, Jo Ann (Rich) Ratcheson of Shorewood, WI; nieces, Johanna (Jamey) Morton of Edmond, OK and Jessie Allen of Traverse City, MI; great-nephews, Coit and Ashton Morton of Edmond, OK; and cousin, Susan Shawhan of South Bend, IN. Jeff was preceded in death by his father, Vaughn in Jan. 1963; mother, Mary Louise in Jan. 2005; and step-father, Louis M. Snyder in Oct. 1985.