Nov 4, 1929 - Aug 29, 2024 Riverside, CA Edgar Wilbur Butler, long time resident of Riverside, California, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Sociology, University of California, Riverside (UCR), was born on November 4, 1929 in Rapid City, South Dakota. He spent his early years during the Depression moving with his family between the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in McNary, Arizona, and El Monte, California. His worldview was shaped by the hardships and inequalities he lived and witnessed, just as the photography and basketball he found in this period shaped his future. He played basketball through high school, junior college then signed up to serve in the U.S. Air Force, landing in Intelligence and on the basketball team.

After honorable discharge, he attended Long Beach State University, courtesy of the GI Bill, where he met the love of his life, Patricia McNichols. They married in 1958.

Ed returned to graduate school at University of Southern California (USC). Upon completing his PhD in Sociology in 1965, Ed took aposition as Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Now with two children, the family moved back to California in 1969 for him to begin a five decade stretch contributing to the University of California, Riverside, and scholarship to the fields of sociology, criminology, demographics, with notable works on topics such as racial disenfranchisement in jury systems and environmental studies. Ed's research focused on social issues as researcher, grant writer, Board member, for organizations such as the John F.

Kennedy Memorial Foundation (Ophelia Project), Riverside County Department of Public Social Services, and The Coachella Valley Partnership, among others.

He created a life full of love for his wife and family, with photography, tennis, travel to parts close and far, and always USC sports. Fight On!

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Patricia Mc- Nichols Butler; his son, Brian (Grace), his daughter, Tracey (Dean), grandchildren, Garret and Joy, his nephew, Todd (Dawn). He and Pat moved to Denver, Colorado, in May 2023. Ed enjoyed that over his lifetime, his birthday often fell on Election Day. To honor him, register and cast your vote in the upcoming election. You can make adonation in his name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation (Ophelia Project) at https://www.jfkfoundation.org/give/ A celebration of his life will be held 2 P.M., November 4, at the California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, California.