Samuel "Sam" John Butcher (born January 1, 1939) is an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

. He is mainly known as the artist behind the Precious Moments brand of characters based on American-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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

Early life

Butcher was born in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

, 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 the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

.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 based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

through illustrations. This job paid very little, so he supplemented his income as a janitor. 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 a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. 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 naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

oil paintings to

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often 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 ter ...

. These works can be observed at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri. Prior to 1978, Sam met Eugene Freedman at a Christian trade show in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. 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 (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. 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 and built a resort called

Sampaguita ''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is ...

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 St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the F ...

, 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, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

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:

The sad loss of a loved one Can be so hard at times I understand because I lost Two precious sons of mine I lost my way and wandered In a Valley of Despair Because my heavy burden Was too much for me to bear But then I heard a still small voice So warm and tender It was the voice of Him, who said "I’m here, just trust in me." Then all at once, I felt a touch It was the hand of God So gentle, warm and soothing Like a balm in Gilead We need not be afraid my friend When sorrow comes because The Lord will bless us and keep us By the power of His love. – Samuel J. Butcher, 10-12-15

From 2012

, Sam Butcher resided in the Philippines and his sons Jon and Don controlled PMI and most of his artistic assets. Butcher makes appearances at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage during the summer for Precious Moments Family Reunion events.

References

External links