R. Thomas Butler (born April 25, 1946) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

from 1999 until 2007.

Career

Butler was elected to the Oregon House in 1998, representing

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He served until 2007, when he resigned to pursue a church mission. He was succeeded by fellow Republican

Cliff Bentz Cliff Stewart Bentz (born January 12, 1952) is an American lawyer, rancher, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he is the ranking member on the House Natura ...

, a lawyer from Ontario, who was unanimously elected by the district's commissioners. Bentz was elected to a full term in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Personal life

Butler's wife, Darlene, was diagnosed with

West Nile virus West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae'', from the genus ''Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The virus ...

in August 2007, however she recovered. The Butlers are members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. They have five children: Heidi, Joseph, Kenyon, John, and Melanie.

References

Living people 1946 births Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives American Mormon missionaries in the United States Latter Day Saints from Oregon People from Ontario, Oregon Brigham Young University alumni 21st-century American politicians {{Oregon-politician-stub