Butch Southwell

We have lost a good man. Butch Southwell, a native Austinite, passed away at St. David's Hospital after midnight on April 2, 2025, after a brave extended fight with leukemia and pneumonia. Hospitalized at the end for over a month, he told one of his stem cell team doctors that up until that morning, he had imagined himself in some sort of a highly competitive game, and when he got good and tired of it, he could just get up out of bed, walk out the door and go home. It was not to be.

Butch was born Howard Franklin Southwell, Jr., on June 1, 1948. When his grandfather saw him in the hospital the day after delivery, he commented, “What a big baby! He looks like a Butch to me!” And so, it was Butch from then on. His parents were Howard Franklin Southwell Sr. and Mary Jane Edmiston Southwell. He was the first of four children, enjoying the idyllic life of growing up in 1950s Austin. One day, a next-door neighbor alerted his mother that her two very young boys had managed to get their tricycles up on the roof and were peddling round and round as fast as they could. Butch went to Ridgetop Elementary, Baker Jr. High, McCallum, and graduated from Sidney Lanier. He studied Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches. He retired from St. Edward's University as the Facilities Supervisor after thirty-six years of employment.

In 2000, Butch and his love, Mary Margaret Quadlander, bought the house of their dreams on Onion Creek in Manchaca and were married the following year. So easygoing, it didn’t take Butch long to ease himself into the Quadlander family; he fit right in, and soon he was as much a part of the family as any one of them. When Mary Margaret’s niece Emma lost her father, Butch pulled her into his own heart to reassure her that he would be there whenever she needed him. Their bond was magical, as with all of his nieces and nephews. In life, he was a loyal friend, as witnessed by the special group of lifelong friends who are now mourning his passing, as are his own siblings and father, who will certainly miss a brother and son so eager to be with his family on any occasion. As a man dedicated to curiosity, he was always learning to fix things. Raised by a strong and self-sufficient father who felt that broken things should be repaired and not so easily tossed away, Butch was most content when fixing thing, lawnmowers, weed eaters, plumbing, air conditioning, pool pumps, wheelbarrow tires, and more weed eaters. If any of his friends needed help with a project, he was always quick to lend a hand, never requiring any sort of repayment other than having fun and lots of laughter. He was quick with a smile and extremely funny, easy to work with, no matter the job, and always determined to finish the work regardless of how long it took.

Butch’s love of nature carried him through life, always at ease in the comfort of the woods and the water. He would join his brother-in-law, Greg, at the family cabin in Colorado and spend days hiking and exploring in the mountains. His love of nature was never more evident than the wonderful bit of wildlife preserve where Butch and Mary Margaret created an eclectic array of garden plants, hanging mobiles, ponds, bird sanctuaries, a swimming pool, and an outdoor kitchen, creating an exotic flavor to the birdsong property. Each year, the hummingbirds would wait impatiently for Butch to refill the feeders with his sugar-water liquid fuel. The swarm of hummingbirds came almost instantly, and in gratitude, they gave us their dance of flight every evening at dusk. Every spring, you could find him climbing the trees like a monkey, pruning the dead limbs away, hanging from the ropes he had secured to the branches, smiling from his lofty lookout spot high in the sky as if he remembered what it was like to be a kid again. One of his favorite pastimes was to share his home with friends and family, cooking a meal outdoors, gathering around the deck, and telling stories or sharing the love. A lifelong love of fishing, beginning with his father and carried through to his select group of fishing buddies, gave him so much joy, hours and hours on the water, swapping tales and waiting for the big one to bite. But every single day, a time he looked forward to like a child waiting for Christmas, he dedicated himself to a minimum two-hour visit with his now 100-year-old father as they teased and enjoyed one another. On game days, it was an all-day event as they critiqued the players, bragging to one another how they would have easily made the touchdown. He would always come back home happy about the time well spent with his dad. On most spring and summer nights at home with Mary Margaret, they would cook dinner outside, sit on the deck, watch the birds, and go over plans for projects in the yard. When the owls would howl, Butch would howl back. On quiet nights in the winter, with the fireplace glowing, Butch would select a particular vinyl record, chosen from his massive collection of albums, turn the lights off in the living room, and ease back into the happiness of listening to his favorite music and being together “He was one of the most nonchalant rays of light I ever met,” wrote one of Mary Margaret’s friends. He was a man of simple needs and tastes, so infinitely thankful for his life filled with abundant love and family. He told a few of us, on what turned out to be his deathbed, that he hoped we all knew whenever he teased any of us, it was because he loved us.

Butch was a man’s Man. He fought a good fight, courageous and without complaint, to the very end, and now the angels have taken him away.

Butch Southwell was preceded in death by his grandparents and his mother, Mary Jane Edmiston Southwell. He is survived by his father, Howard Southwell. He is also survived by his wife, Mary Margaret Quadlander, and his siblings, Steve Southwell (Sandra), Jan Townsley (Terrel), and Greg Southwell. Included are his brothers-in-law, Greg Quadlander, Pat Quadlander (Kate), Michael Quadlander (Sharon), and sister-in-law, Cheryl Quadlander (Mai). His nieces include Emma Quadlander-Goff (Mack), Jessica Quadlander, Christina Quadlander Hutchens (John), Teresa Southwell, Melissa Southwell, and Stephanie Southwell Thompson (Drew), and nephew Travis Quadlander (Christine).

The outdoor graveside ceremony will be at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Drive. Saturday, April 26, at 12:00 noon.