Samuel John Butcher (January 1, 1939 – May 20, 2024) was an American artist. He was mainly known as the artist behind the Precious Moments brand of characters based on American-

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

themes. He drew in oil, water-color, acrylic, and mixed-media.

Early life

Butcher was born in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

, on January 1, 1939. He was the third of five children born to a poor family. Soon after his birth, the family moved to

Redding, California Redding is a city in and the county seat of Shasta County, California, and the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, California, Sacrame ...

.How We Started: Samuel J. Butcher's Story. http://preciousmoments.com/about/story/ (retrieved July 1, 2005). As a young man, Butcher was a "chalkboard minister," spreading the teachings of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

through illustrations. This job paid very little, so he supplemented his income as a

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

. With the guide of Reverend Royal Blue, Butcher made the decision to follow deeper into Christianity. He joined the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. There he met Bill Biel, with whom he would start his first business, Jonathan & David (J&D). During his ten-year career with the CEF, Butcher's work was seen by millions of people through the ''Tree House Club'' television programs.

Precious Moments

In 1974, Butcher created ''Precious Moments'' drawings for J&D, which were introduced to the market a year later. Before that, Butcher created many other works, from

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

oil paintings to

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

. These works can be observed at the Precious Moments Chapel in

Carthage, Missouri Carthage is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,522 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Jasper County and is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." History Jasper County was formed in 1841. ...

. Prior to 1978, Sam met Eugene Freedman at a Christian trade show in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The three major products carried by J&D were greeting cards, porcelain figurines, and vinyl dolls. J&D sourced its vinyl dolls in Asia, leading Butcher to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. In 1981 Butcher and Biel traveled to the Philippines, where they gave financial assistance to a Bible college. Some time thereafter, Butcher and Biel ended their business relationship. J&D suspended its greeting card business, passed its porcelain products to Enesco, and stopped producing vinyl dolls. The doll business would be relaunched as Precious Moments Country Dolls in 1989 and renamed Precious Moments Company Dolls in 1992.
Butcher founded the Samuel J. Butcher Foundation and Precious Moments, Inc. In 1989, he completed the construction of the Precious Moments Chapel on the south side of Carthage, Missouri. The Chapel and several other museums are on the property, along with a wedding chapel and reception area. He privately funded the purchase of land on an island in

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital and largest town is Kalibo. The province is situated in the northwest portion of Panay, Panay Islan ...

and built a resort called

Sampaguita ''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to Bhutan and India. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is naturalised in many scattered locales: Mauri ...

Gardens. Through this resort, Butcher provides employment and training opportunities for people from Aklan and students from other provinces in Western Visayas. Later, Butcher moved to St. Charles, Illinois, and lived with his children. As Precious Moments became more successful, Butcher began to spend more time at his resort in the Philippines. At the height of his popularity, Butcher fell ill due to strokes brought on by self-medicating. His children brought him back to the States, where he was diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and treated. He then returned to the Philippines.

Death of his sons

While Butcher was in the Philippines, his 27-year-old son Phillip was killed. Butcher was filled with grief and could not pursue his interests in art. Butcher dealt with his grief by returning to art. He worked on paintings in what is now called Phillip's Room at the Chapel. According to Chapel employees who watched Butcher, "it was as though he was possessed by depression and anger. Finally, his body and mind could take it no more. Sam broke down, and stopped." Butcher's children urged their father to take better care of himself and took over all business responsibilities at PMI. Butcher left for the Philippines for an extended period. His son Tim Butcher died on October 14, 2012, having been the inspiration for many Precious Moments pieces. Butcher built a Belltower called "Timmy's Tower", in remembrance of his son, containing a poem Samuel wrote.

From 2012

, Sam Butcher resided in the Philippines and his sons, Jon and Don, controlled PMI and most of his artistic assets. Butcher made appearances at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage during the summer for Precious Moments Family Reunion events. He died at his home in Carthage, Missouri on May 20, 2024, at the age of 85.

References

External links