Sam Butcher

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Samuel J. Butcher is an American artist. He is mainly 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.

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[edit] In the beginning

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

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.

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, Jonathan & David (J&D). 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 J&D, which was introduced to the market a year later. 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 a Bible collage. (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 Samuel J. 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. Through this resort Sam provides employment and training opportunities for people from Aklan and students from other provinces in Western Visayas.

Later in his adult life, he moved to St. Charles, Illinois and lived with his children.

Yet he began to spend more and more time in his resort in The Philippines as the success of Precious Moments rose. At the height of popularity, Sam fell ill due to strokes brought on by self-medicating - his children brought him back to the States, where he was diagnosed bipolar and treated. He then returned to the Philippines. (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 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 assistant

Sam Butcher is always accompanied by his Filipino assistant, Jojo Sonillo, who takes care of him, including seeing to his medical needs and ably assisting him with his business calendar.

[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 events. 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