Harry Butler:
CLASS OF 1964
Roseville High SchoolClass of 1964
Roseville, CA
Harry's Story
I worked for the State of California for over 38 years and retired in 2003 on my 57th birthday. I was a Program Manager in the federal dislocated worker program. After I retired I accepted a part-time (retirement) job with the Sacramento River Cats (at the time the Oakland A's triple A farm team). I worked seven years for the Cats. After retiring what better place to work than a baseball stadium?
I am married (for 52 years) and my wife Shelly and I have a son and a daughter.. We have one grandson..
Six months after retiring I was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. I am the seventh (possibly eighth) person in my family to have this disease. I am very active in the local Parkinsons community and participated in several research studies conducted by the University of California. My wife and I enjoy cruising and have been on the last four "Parkinson's Seminar at Sea" cruises, one to Mexico, two to Alaska and one to the western Caribbean. I was President of the Roseville Parkinson's Support Group for 11 years.
During a routine appointment at the Parkinson's Institute my doctor stated that she would support my effort to have the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) operation . This is an operation where they drill two holes in the top of my skull and then insert rods into my brain that are attached to a battery that is placed in my chest (like a pacemaker). The battery sends electrical impulses to the rods which stimulates the brain to produce D0pemine. You develop Parkinson's when the brain stops producing dopamine. The operation takes about 8 hours and I had to stay awake the whole time. I had the operation in July of 2011.
I was an avid tennis player and played 3-4 times a week; however, because the Parkinson's drains my strength and energy, and given the fact I fell the last four times I tried to play, I no longer play. I miss tennis more then you can imagine. I love sports especially baseball and football. I"ve been to the last six Pro-Bowl games played in Hawaii. My wife and I love Hawaii. On our 25th wedding anniversary we went to Hawaii for the first time and have been back every year since. I went to the 2016 Pro Bowl which I believe was my 25 visit to the islands.
In 2009 I found that I have five half-brothers and a half-sister. Shortly after my mothers death I learned that Keith Butler wa s not my biolo...Expand for more
gical father. As you can probably imagine, I had mixed emotions regarding whether-or-not to try and locate my father. I obviously had those emotions where I figured if he wanted to find me he would have tried, and the one that told me he obviously didnt care, and finally, the one that said I should leave well enough alone. But several years after my mother died I gave it a try and I sent letters to people with the last name of Plude but received no responses. It took me a few years to get the courage to try again and I finally found him but it was too late. With the help of a friend who is into genealogy, I found that my father died ten days after my mother died, and died on my mother's birthday; however, I was able to contact his sister, "Aunt Jean", and found that I have 5 half brothers and one half sister. I went to Connecticut and Boston in the spring of 2009 and met with three brothers (Jim, Tim & Artie) and my sister Jackie. My brother Joe lives in Martinez and has become an important part of my family. My brother Peter I still haven't met but I have talk with him several times.
In October of 2016 I attended the World Parkinson's Congress. The WPC brought together 5200 delegates from 67 countries. I felt the Congress was to technical for the average Parkinson's patient but I met some amazing people and learn that there are some amazing things happening that will greatly help people with Parkinson's (PWP). I submitted the complete story about finding my second family and they have decided to include my story as a chapter in a book about positive things that have happened to people after being diagnosed. My full story has also been published in a national Genealogy magazine.
Several years ago I joined the Roseville’s American Legion Post because it was named in honor of Great Uncle (Alyn W Butler) who was the only person from Roseville to be killed in WWI. Alyn was killed on September 5, 1918 in the battle near the Vesle River in France. As luck would have it Alyn was killed only days before the war ended.
I have recently joined "Rock Steady Boxing", which is a program designed for people with Parkinson's base on training for boxers. I go three times a week and the class is 90 minutes, Needless to say it is exhausting.
If you have questions or just want to say hi, my mobile number is 9168373366.
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