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1980 NAHB President Merrill Butler Dies in California
 Merrill Butler, Jr., president of NAHB in 1980, died on May 19 at the age of 83 in Newport Beach, Calif. of congestive heart failure after suffering from dementia for several years.
A 1948 graduate of the University of Southern California and a World War II and Korean War combat veteran, Butler built more than 12,000 single-family homes, townhouses, fourplexes, condominiums and apartments during his home building career, which began in 1956 when he founded the Butler-Harbour Construction Company in Anaheim, Calif.
In 1971, he formed Butler Housing Corporation and seven years later began building commercial and industrial projects, as well.
In 1982, he formed Merrill Butler & Associates, a company that provided real estate counseling and management services to various financial institutions. In 1984, he became a director of the Financial Corporation of America and its subsidiary American Savings and Loan Association. A year later, he became president of the American Real Estate Group, a newly created division of American Savings and Loan, and was responsible for the disposition and management of the $7.5 billion of non-performing assets owned by American Savings.
Butler also was a director of Fannie Mae and served on the advisory committees of Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. He also served on the board of councilors of the USC School of Urban and Regional Planning and the Los Angeles chapter of Lambda Alpha, an honorary land economics society. In 1980, he also served as the U.S. delegate to the European Economic Commission of the United Nations.
Butler was named "Builder of the Year" by the Building Industry Association of Southern California in 1978 and by Walker & Lee Real Estate in 1974 and 1979. He was also a president of the local home builders association and served on numerous NAHB committees.
In 1981, he was named the Southern California City of Hope's Man of the Year and also received the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Butler is survived by his wife, Barbara, and three married children.
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