His service became our mission.
The William H. “Bill” Butler Jr. Foundation carries forward the life, service, sacrifice, and legacy of a man who spent his life showing up for others.
Meet BillService should never be forgotten.
The William H. “Bill” Butler Jr. Foundation exists to honor, support, and empower the first responder community and those affected by their service.
We do that through scholarships for families left behind, second chances for young people who have made mistakes, support for those just beginning a life of service, and access to the mental health care first responders need to keep going.
Through community donations and merchandise sales, we're working to make sure that support outlasts any single gift.
William H. “Bill” Butler Jr.
A life defined by service, family, fairness, and the belief that every person deserved to know they mattered.
Before the badge, there was already a calling.
Deputy William Henry “Bill” Butler Jr. was born in Oakland, California, and raised from boyhood in Hillsdale, Michigan, where he attended school from grade school through high school and came to know nearly everyone in town.
Before he wore a deputy's badge, he wore his country's uniform. Bill served in the Army National Guard, including a tour overseas during Operation Iraqi Freedom and years as a National Guard recruiter.
He later served the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office for twelve years, carrying badge number 8158 — a number that continues forward in his name.
He made people feel like they mattered.
Bill was known as much for his fairness as his badge. During a budget shortfall one Thanksgiving, he bought a real holiday meal for the inmates in the county jail with his own money — a small act, but the kind people remembered.
He treated the younger deputies he worked alongside like his own kids and checked in on local shop employees during his rounds.
Even after becoming a deputy, Bill kept his hands in everything: real estate, a seat on the hospital board, and always another way to help.
Husband. Father. Brother. Friend.
At home, he was the same man: the deputy who would dress up as part of a family Halloween costume he swore he didn't want to do and the father who showed up to his kids' games.
He spent years quietly sending money to support his sister and her son after they were left with nothing.
Bill and his wife, Sarah — who holds a PhD in Psychology and works at the local hospital — were married for nearly 13 years.
A final call to serve.
Deputy Butler heard the radio call and went to back up a fellow deputy during a traffic stop in Jefferson Township. He was shot and killed in the line of duty — the department's first loss of an officer in nearly a hundred years. He was 51.
His story didn't end that day.
Bill is survived by his wife, Sarah, his five children, two grandchildren, his parents, and his sister.
He has since been honored with a memorial wall at his own department, a place on the Oakland County memorial, a spot on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and a stretch of Michigan's M-34 dedicated in his name: the Deputy Sheriff William Butler, Jr. Memorial Highway.
In the months after Bill's death, organizations like Tunnels to Towers stepped in to pay off the family's mortgage and help secure his children's education — the kind of support that allowed his family to keep standing.
That's the model this Foundation is built on: extending that same kind of support to the next family, the next young person looking for a second chance, and the next first responder who needs help carrying the weight of the job.
This Foundation carries his name forward, and with it, the standard he set for service and sacrifice.
More than the uniform.
Stay close to the mission.
The William H. “Bill” Butler Jr. Foundation grew out of the 8158 Podcast: Stories of Sacrifice. Follow the mission, hear the stories, or reach out to us directly.
Help us turn one man's legacy into support for many.
Every gift helps support first responder families, new recruits, mental health care, scholarships, and second chances for young people working to change their lives.
Give in Bill's Name