Richard J. Butterfield, Jr.

January 18, 1958 - September 18, 2026

Richard J. Butterfield, Jr. (Rick) 68, of Newtown passed away on Friday, September 18, 2026 surrounded by his loving wife, Lisa and devoted sister, Barbara.

The family wishes to acknowledge and thank the team of outstanding professionals in the ICU at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania who

cared for and treated Rick when he suffered a recent acute illness.

Further acknowledged in gratitude, by his wife, Lisa, are the oncology and hematology team at the Abramson Cancer Center where Rick was treated for 18 years, notably Dr. Stephen Schuster, and PAs Ellen Napier and Danielle Land.  Many thanks are extended also to Dr. John Plastaras (Radiology), Dr. Lisa Motavalli (Cardiology), Dr. Phillip Holler (Dermatology), Dr. James Schuster and PA Albert Abbo (Neurology).

Rick was born in Trenton in 1958 and lived with his parents, Rick and Marie (Nancy) Butterfield, and grandparents Stella and Alfred Lanzoni, until moving to Ewing Township in 1961 when his sister, Barbara was born.  

 Rick spent his early childhood and teenage years in the family home and with his grandparents, Grandmom Stella and Grandpop Alfred who moved to Ewing across the street to be closer to the family.  Rick made fast friends in the ‘Village’ notably, Jeff, John, Butch, Bob and Keith with whom he many adventures, including going on hunting trips with his Dad, Jeff and Keith, and camping trips with the guys on the grounds on New Jersey Manufacturers.

Later he expanded his hiking and backpacking trips with friends to the Delaware Water Gap and to Adirondak Mountains (sometimes in the winter with friend, Karl) and to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Rick had a passion for playing the drums and spent hours playing them to favorite songs like Robin Trower’s Bridge of Sighs and Grand Funk Railroad.

After finishing middle school, Rick was accepted into the Pennington School.  He tried out for soccer and was immediately drafted to the Junior Varsity team.  He loved Pennington, especially because his cousin and dear friend, Ricky Nolan also attended.  When the Varsity team needed help, Rick was quickly promoted to the upperclassman team and earned his P for his jacket.

Rick left the Pennington School to attend Ewing High in his junior year to be with his friends and to attend vocational school for electronics.  After a short hiatus from his studies, Rick went back to school at the College of New Jersey and Mercer County College to study Electrical Engineering. Rick worked for several engineering firms locally  before joining the State of New Jersey, Department of Community Affairs in 2002.  He retired in 2021.

In the fall of 1999, Rick met his future wife, Lisa at a concert at the Trenton Thunder Arena.  Shortly afterwards he bought a townhouse in Ewing. Rick and Lisa dated throughout 2000 and when her lease ended, she moved to the Ewing townhouse to be with him.

In 2003, Rick, while looking for a house to move from the townhouse, he found an old stone farmhouse in the Historic District of Dolington in Bucks County, PA that he absolutely fell in love with. Lisa was not keen on moving to PA due because they both worked for the State of New Jersey,  but they took the plunge and moved in the spring of 2004.

In late 2005, at the age of 47, Rick was diagnosed with cancer.  He underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatment at that time, and various cancer treatments over the successive 17 years until finally achieving remission in 2022.  He always remained positive, always asking what do we do next to fix this? I got this! Get knocked down 7 times, get up 8 times, and strong mind, strong body, strong spirit!

In 2006, Rick proposed to Lisa, on one knee in front of the walk-in fireplace.  Lisa promptly accepted, but due to Rick’s health issues and treatments, they waited to get married. In 2016 after a 10 year engagement, they married on the beach in Edgarstown, Martha’s Vineyard on the 17^th anniversary of the day they met, September 25, 2016. 

Despite his health issues, he continued to enjoy the things he loved.  In the warmer months he hiked  and went camping with Lisa in the Adirondacks, Catskills, Grand Tetons, Glacier National Park and Mt. Rainier.  He enjoyed mountain and sometimes road bike riding, and making camp at the private campsite on the property.  Many nights were spent there watching wildlife, making campfires and listening to music or the Philles games on the radio.

When winter arrived, Rick waited anxiously like a kid for the first snowfall and insisted on being outside in it when it started. He loved to go to Lake Placid in the winter and enjoyed cross country skiing and ice skating there and closer to home. He also spent many evenings sitting by the woodstove, always with a cat on his lap watching his beloved Philadelphia Flyers and Eagles.

Rick is predeceased by his parents, Rick and Marie (Nancy) Butterfield; his grandparents, Stella and Alfred Lanzoni and Bertram Butterfield and Anna Czaplinski; and his cousin, Ricky Nolan.  He is survived by his wife, Lisa; his dear sister, Barbara DeLucia and her husband Anthony; his dear Aunt, Jean Nolan; and cousins Rebecca (daughter, Hannah), Brian (Eileen), Rocky (June), Melissa (Dave), Karen (Sepp and daughter, Sabrina), JoAnna (Gina, and daughters, Kelli and Noelle), Jack (Michelle), Patti Jo (Cesar) and CK (Lama).

He will be greatly missed by Lisa’s family, sisters, Pam and Jessi;  nephews, Adam (Stephanie), and Ken (Melanie); niece, Sarah (Nick); great nephews and nieces (Zach, Gabby, Lexi, Sabrina and Sophie); and cousins Lennie (Ed), Sandy, Jared (Tracie), Eric (Trisha), Aaron (Kristen), Ruth, Steven and Allison (Matt).

He will also be missed by many forever friends, neighbors and former colleagues.

Services were held privately at the request of the family under the direction of the Buklad-Merlino Memorial Homes, Hamilton.

 Donations can be made in Rick’s memory to Abramson Cancer Center, Shriner’s Hospital for Children and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

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