Remembering Darren A. Butrick

It deeply saddens me to have to say that the world lost another person. On November 4th 2020 Darren A. Butrick's time on earth came to an end. Sadly the Darren I knew growing up, the one so many fondly remember, is a different version from the one who died. I remember my dad as most little girls, as my hero. He was strong and hard working, he taught me respect and how to treat people, he taught me the importance of our constitution and our rights. He was a patriot and loved our country. He had respect for the law, our military, and what was right. He taught me how to provide for my family no matter what circumstances you are dealt. He taught me to always be there for others and help as much as you can, to be humble. He always worked and hardly ever took breaks. He always had ideas for new things or business adventures. He was an entrepreneur, and taught me to always work hard and work through the hard times, to never give up, to fight for what I believe in, and to work hard to achieve my dreams. I'm so thankful for the memories I have with him and the very important values i have because of him.  When I was around 12 years old he met the love of his life. He loved her so much and she made him happy and his eyes sparkle. They had so much fun together and went on trips and had a lot of friends who were always around, it was always a fun time at their house. You could feel and see the love from every one around. They were always there for one another. Sadly this was not long before the economy was bad and he had to close the business. He did what any hard working, proving man would do, and got a job working for someone else. While working that job he somehow got into some chemicals and it prisoned his body. Over the next ten years I watched my dad's health decline and the once strong willed, hard working man wither away. He was in so much pain and seemed to always have new ailments pop up. As time went he was no longer able to work and provide for his family. He struggled with that as that is who he was. That's all he knew. It broke him inside and that did not help the situation. He unfortunately struggled with alcohol addiction as well. He slipped farther into drinking and a deeper depression. He was always going to doctors trying to figure out what was going on with him, and his meds were constantly changing. In august of last year he saw no other option to deal with his problems. ( he didn't like to talk about things and kept them inside to himself) and attempted suicide. He survived and over the last year he had a long road to recovery. He had some set backs but over all was healing and physically getting better. He told me he was happy to still be here and happy he lived. My kids and I went up to visit him in may and had a wonderful time with him. We fixed things and went mushroom picking just like when I was little. However he still did not want to talk to anyone and work on his problems that unfortunately were still lurking inside of him. On the sad evening of November 4th, after an argument at home, he locked himself in a room with a gun, the police were called to assist him and get him help. He was intoxicated and did not want the police to come. When they did come and attempt to make contact he opened fire and, as a result, was killed by their returned fire. It was a very sad and tragic ending to his life, he lived a very full one where he did, saw, and achieved many things. Like I said he had a lot to teach and he was the type of person people noticed when they walked in and when they spoke. I also want to say my family and I do not hold the police responsible or harbor any ill feelings towards them. They were doing their job and were trying to serve and protect and for that I appreciate them. My dad made a bad choice, one I wish he didn't make. It reminds me that everyone has silent problems that no one else knows about, as well as how important it is to reach out when needed or to be there for someone who needs it. I wish this didn't happen and I wish I never had to write this, but here I am, so if you are able and willing to, I am asking for donations for my family to help pay for the funeral expenses and getting the family together during this tragic time, also to help cover some of the accrued medical expenses over the last year. I love you to the moon and back daddy, I miss you and I'll see you again one day, I know your watching over us, fly free!!