Sam Butcher

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Samuel J. Butcher is an American artist. He is widely known as the artist behind the Precious Moments brand of characters based on American-Christian themes. He draws in oil, water-color, acrylic, and mixed-mediums.

Contents

[edit] In the beginning

Samuel John Butcher was born January 1st, 1939 in Jackson, Michigan. He was the third of five children born to a poor family. Soon after, the family moved to Redding, California. (PMI 2005a [1])

As with many artists, religion was Butcher's inspiration. As a child, he remembers his grandmother telling him Bible stories. He painted scenes from the stories he heard, most of the time on scrap pieces of paper he'd found in junk yards. There are even stories of him painting on rocks in the river, because his parents gave him paint for Christmas, but could not afford the paper. (PMI 2005a)

During his adolescent years, Sam felt separated and was distant from his family. "He was not interested in motorcycles and cars like his father and brothers. Sam preferred to spend his time drawing and writing stories. Sam had decided at an early age that he wanted to be an artist but his father opposed the decision". But with encouragement from his art teacher, Rex Moravec, Sam continued his pursuit of his hobby. (PMC 2005)

Sam won a scholarship and attended the College of Arts & Crafts in Berkeley, California, but it is not clear if he graduated (PMI 2005). Because by the time of Sam's birth, the school had already moved to Oakland and was known as the California College of Arts and Crafts or CCAC. Also, although his first wife was mentioned as being his college sweetheart (PMI), it is not clear if he met her at CCAC or at Bible college.

As a young man, Sam was a "chalkboard minister", spreading the teachings of Christianity through illustrations. This job paid very little, so Sam supplemented his income as a janitor. (PMI 2005)

With the guide of Rev. Royal Blue, Sam made the decision to follow deeper into Christianity. He joined the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There he met Bill Biel, with whom Sam would start his first business. During his ten year career with the CEF, Sam's work was seen by millions of people through the "Tree House Club" television programs. (PMC 2005)

[edit] Precious Moments

In 1974 he created the now-famous Precious Moments drawings for their company Jonathan & David (J&D), which was introduced on the market a year later. But before that, Butcher created many other pieces of work, from kitsch oil-paintings to comic strips. These works can be observed at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri.

Some time before 1978, Sam met Eugene Freedman at a Christian trade show in Los Angeles, California. (Teepee 2005)

The three major products carried by J&D were greeting cards, porcelain figurines, and vinyl dolls. It was when J&D sourced the vinyl dolls in Asia that Sam fell in love with the Philippines. In 1981 Sam and Bill traveled to The Philippines, where they gave financial assistance to young Bible school students. Since that time, Sam Butcher has traveled with Filipino assistants, normally young men from 14 to 30 years of age. (Butcher, J. 2005)

It was after that time that Sam and Bill went separate ways. J&D relinquished its greeting card business, passed its porcelain products to Enesco, and abruptly stopped producing vinyl dolls. The doll business would be reborn as Precious Moments Country Dolls in 1989 - renamed Precious Moments Company Dolls in 1992. (PMC 2005)

With the success of the Precious Moments series, Butcher founded the Sam Butcher Foundation and Precious Moments, Inc. (PMI). In 1989, he completed the construction of the Precious Moments Chapel. He privately funded the purchase of land on an island near Manila (Sampaguita Gardens in Aklan), and built a hotel resort. (Siytangco 2004) Most of his private funds are tied up in this property and in the event of his death, his assistants will inherit his fortune. (see Filipino assistant sect. below)

In his adult life, he moved to St. Charles, Illinois and lived with his children. Yet he began to spend more and more time on his island in The Philippines as the success of Precious Moments rose. At the height of popularity, Sam fell ill due to lifestyle diseases - he would not return to the United States permanently for some years to come. (PMCOM 2005)

[edit] Phillip's death

While Sam was in The Philippines on business, his 27-year-old son Phillip was killed in an auto accident. Sam turned inward, started drinking heavily, and could not pursue his interests in art. Sam did not show his feelings. He gave the eulogy at Phillip's funeral with a gleaming face. He could not deal with his grief. (TCF 1999)

When Sam decided to deal with his grief by returning to art, everyone around him was relieved. But what many did not notice was how intensely he put himself into his drawings. He worked tirelessly day and night on paintings in what is now called Phillip's Room at the Chapel. According to Chapel employees who watched Sam, "it was as though he was possessed by depression and anger. Finally, his body and mind could take it no more. [Sam Butcher] broke down, and stopped."

Sam's son, Jon, urged his father to take better care of himself, and took over all business responsibilities at PMI. Sam left for The Philippines and would not return for some time.

[edit] The Filipino assistants

Sam Butcher is always accompanied by his Filipino assistants.

Jojo Sonillo-Butcher is Sam's longtime ward and is the proprietor of the Sampaguita Gardens Resort (Siytangco 2004). As his name suggests, Jojo is legally associated with Sam and is in line for inheriting Sam's wealth before Jon, Sam's eldest living son by birth.

[edit] Today

Currently, Sam Butcher resides in The Philippines while his son, Jon, controls PMI and most of his artistic assets.

Sam is known to make appearances at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage during the Summer for the Precious Moments Family Reunion event. Unfortunately, because of his unstable health, fans are not able to verify his attendance prior to joining the event. (Chapel 2004)

[edit] Sources and references

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