Charles Butter

Charles M. Butter, PhD (1934-2023), also known as Charlie, was a true connoisseur of life. He passed away on February 2nd after a long rich life shaped by living with, but never bowing to, polio and post-polio syndrome.

Charlie was known for his love of classical music and jazz; the modern artists Milton Avery, Karl Appel, and Alexander Calder; Italian food, fresh fish, French wines; and Cuban cigars. He was a world traveler and especially enjoyed his time in France, Italy, England, and the Netherlands for work and pleasure; in Israel and California for family; in Alaska and Michigan for fishing; and in Vermont for cheddar cheese and maple syrup. And, of course, in and around Boston for the Red Sox, Harvard reunions, and the vibrant autumn New England colors. Charlie was a renowned Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Michigan who expanded the knowledge of his field and inspired generations of students.

What many didn’t know was that Charlie achieved all this despite contracting polio, and enduring multiple surgeries up through early adulthood. In his elder years, post-polio disease ravaged his body. Yet he remained a curious, if curmudgeonly, engaged scholar and traveler and devoted husband, father and grandfather to the very end.

Charlie was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1934, to Jewish parents Max and Helen Butter, and had one beloved older sister, Audrey. At one year old he was struck with polio, which shaped his childhood. As other children played outdoors, he could only be pulled in a wagon by his mother. From age five to 18, he had multiple surgeries at Boston Children’s Hospital. For months after each surgery he had to stay in bed and read, play dominoes and checkers with Audrey, relish sandwiches from the local Jewish deli, enjoy Mickey Mouse cartoons, and listen to music.

Spending so much time in hospitals fueled his interest in science and he longed to become a physician. Upon recommendation of his doctor, Charlie took up swimming to strengthen his muscles. His parents bought a summer home on Furnace Pond in Pembroke, MA where he could spend time in the water. He refused to let polio stop him from living. His Aunt Eunice bought him a fly-tying kit during one of his long hospital stays, which started a lifelong passion for fishing (despite the fact that his wife, Irene, would eventually end up catching the biggest fish).

His family moved to Newton, MA and Charlie continued his dedication to exercising his body and his mind. He graduated top in his class from Newton High School, and he was thrilled when Brown University accepted him until he got into Harvard. He knew it was there that his intellect and passions would truly flourish.

Before leaving for Harvard, his doctor at Boston Children’s, made sure that Charlie learned how to safely fall and get back up on his own. Walking around Cambridge with a leg brace would be treacherous, especially with snow and ice. In 89 years, Charlie never broke a bone.

After undergraduate studies, Charlie went to Duke University, where he studied physiological psychology, now called neuroscience, and met his beloved wife, Irene.

Picture it. It’s Hanukkah in North Carolina in 1955. There are very few Jewish students at the university. A lovely PhD student named Irene Hasenberg and her roommate, Phyllis, invite fellow students to their apartment to celebrate the holiday. Phyllis invites Charlie, a fellow psych department student. The scent of latkes is so alluring that Charlie explores the kitchen, finding.. Irene at the griddle. He is smitten. They chat. And the rest is history. Their mutual love of latkes resulted in a 66 year marriage, two kids, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Irene and Charlie eloped to Amsterdam in 1957, then moved to Washington, DC where Charlie worked for the National Institute of Health as a post-doctoral fellow, and their dear daughter Ella was born. In 1962, Charlie got an offer at the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor of Psychology, and the family moved to Ann Arbor, MI. In 1963, their beloved son Noah was born at St. Joe’s hospital.

During this same decade, in the wider world of public health, Dr. Salk developed his polio vaccine. On April 12, 1954, at a press conference at the University of Michigan, it was announced that the polio vaccine was 80-90% effective against paralytic polio. The U.S. government licensed it the same day and began widespread vaccination. It was 20 years too late for Charlie, but wonderful news for the world.

Charlie became a full professor in 1968 and retired in 1999. He held research fellowships at Harvard, Oxford, and the University of Florida and was the author of over 65 peer-reviewed research articles. He changed the way we think about how the brain pays attention and how it interprets and understands what it processes. His textbook, Neuropsychology: the Study of Brain and Behavior, was published in 1968.

Charlie presented his research at International Neuroscience Society conferences around the world. This allowed him and Irene to travel to Sardinia, France, Croatia, among other locations.

As he got older, his post-polio became more challenging and confined him to a wheelchair. But this didn’t crimp his gentlemanly style or curtail his courage as he continued driving, fishing, and living an independent life. He and Irene traveled to Israel for the marriage of their granddaughter Amelie, traveled to Alaska to tie flies and fish, and secured prime seats at Fenway Park to cheer on the Red Sox. Charlie was always clad in dapper attire. It might take him sometime to get properly dressed, with a crisp collared shirt, vest, pressed pants, and a brimmed hat, but those were essential.

Charlie continued his academic adventures by writing two additional books, Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Universals in Art and their Biological Roots (2011) and Exploring and Exploiting: How the World of Living Things Works, From Evolution by Natural Selection to How Some Businesses Flourish (2022). These books were written painstakingly, with utter determination, sometimes with one hand or one finger, as post-polio syndrome stole his dexterity.

His persistence teaches us to go forth and explore, despite our limitations, and to vigorously embrace curiosity about ourselves, art and the world. Charlie is now free from suffering, and leaves us with beautiful memories and the courage to continue life’s journey, as arduous as it may be, together.

Charlie is preceded in death by his sister Audrey Butter. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Irene Hasenberg Butter; his daughter Ella Butter and his son Noah Butter and Noah’s wife Melissa Rosenberg; his granddaughters Amelie Navon and her husband Guy Navon, Shireen Nassar and her husband Alaa Khateeb, and grandson Jonah Butter; and his great grandchildren Adam and Maya Navon and Amir Khateeb. May his memory be a blessing.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Post-Polio Health International at www.post-polio.org, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org/givehope, or a charity of one’s choice. Funeral service will be held at Temple Beth Emeth at 11am on Monday, February 6th followed by a burial service at Arbor Crest Cemetery.