Michael Butler

Michael Anthony Butler, 54, of Long Beach passed away on Sept. 30, 2007, after a battle with cancer. Born on June 13, 1953, in Dublin, Ireland, he was the son of Noel and Amanda Butler. His father ran an art and antique business that had been in the family since 1735. The business supplied antiques for many of the manor houses and castles that were renovated over the years. Mr. Butler was very proud of his family, as the only son he was brought up to someday run the family business, but his dream was to come to America, which he did in 1984. He lived first in Boston, Ma., where he married, and in 1993 he came to Long Beach. He had a serious motorcycle accident when he was 17 years old that left him with a badly damaged foot, leg and hip that were not dealt with properly in Ireland. As a result, he lived with serious pain all his adult life. The accident problems were corrected after he came to Washington and he was very happy, but soon cancer was discovered and his fight with pain started all over again. Mr. Butler always wanted to be in show business. He did some commercials and worked as an extra. He finally became one of two regular Celtic Aire programmers at KMUN Radio in Astoria. He loved his program and his listeners, of which there were many regulars. He was delighted when they called the program or recognized him outside the station. He had the personality of a leprechaun and will be missed. Survivors include his wife Marya Butler of Long Beach; two grown stepchildren in Massachusetts; a sister, Olivia Mahadevan and a niece, Kamala Doyle, both of Dublin, Ireland. There will be celebration of his life at 11 a.m. on Oct. 20 at Penttila's Chapel by The Sea in Long Beach. A second memorial is being planned by some of his friends in Astoria at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are suggested in his name to KMUN Radio, P.O. Box 269, Astoria, OR 97103.