Victor Butsky

Victor was born in Toronto, Canada to Wasyl and Maria Butsky - Ukrainian nationals that emigrated to Canada after being interned in forced labour camps in the WWII. They settled near Niagara on the Lake on a fruit and vegetable farm where Victor grew up working from a young age.

A wonderful husband and father, he is predeceased by his parents and his sister Lydia Kallaur. Victor is survived by his loving wife Lana, son Alexander, nephew Boris Kallaur and other extended family members.

Victor always put his family and friends first, including his family pets. He was the happiest swimming in the pool with his family and his rescued pups or attending Miami Dolphins and Florida Panthers games with his son Alexander. Victor was a simple and disciplined man with a big heart, great sense of humor and love of history.

Victor graduated with a B. A. Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1979 and received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1982. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1984. Victor was a registered patent and trade-mark agent and a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. Victor joined Ridout & Maybee in Toronto as an articling student in 1982 and continued with that firm after his call to the bar when he moved with 5 others to Blake, Cassels & Graydon, a large corporate and commercial firm in Toronto. He was instrumental in establishing the intellectual property group in the firm. In 1994 he was one of the founding partners of Deeth Williams Wall LLP and continued with that firm until his death. His work in intellectual property law let him combine his engineering and law school training. His ownership of sporty cars in his youth led him to develop an expertise in fighting traffic tickets, although this was strictly pro bono work. He was most proud of the difficult cases where he succeeded in obtaining protection through tenacious advocacy despite repeated objections by the Patent and Trademarks Offices (VEGETABLE SOUVLAKI comes to mind, and HONEY BAKED HAM). The loyalty he extended to family and friends also applied to clients, who repaid this by remaining his clients throughout his career. Victor also felt a real responsibility to give back to the profession. He was on the Patent Agent Examination Board for years - this took a great deal of time he could have been spending building up his own practice but he chose to help educate the patent agents of the future. Victor was very proud of his engineering background and maintained his qualifications as a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario throughout his legal career.

There are no words to describe how much Victor will be dearly missed by his family and friends. If anyone ever felt they had a problem and needed to talk to someone, Victor was there, listening and supporting and encouraging. It is that stability and comfort that he provided that can never be replaced in our lives.

A private memorial service was held at Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens where he is interred. A Celebration of Life in Naples and Toronto will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Victor’s memory could be made to AVOW Hospice of Naples, Collier County Domestic Animal Services, or a charity of your choice.