WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
MARCH 30 - APRIL 5, 2022 UCW 7
According to a news release
from the Sheriff 's Office, former
Cumberland County Sheriff Earl
"Moose" Butler passed away on
Sunday, March 20. e press release
said the 84-year-old man passed away
peacefully, surrounded by family.
Butler served as Sheriff of
Cumberland County for 22 years,
from 1994 to 2016. He was one of the
longest-serving Sheriffs in North Caro-
lina. Before being appointed sheriff,
Butler worked as a district supervisor
with the North Carolina Department
of Probation and Parole.
Butler was a football player for UNC
and eventually the Pittsburgh Steelers
before working in law enforcement.
In 2019, the Sheriff 's Training
Center was renamed in honor of Earl
R. Butler. Current Sheriff Ennis Wright
submitted the nomination.
"Building dedications should be
done while someone is alive so they
can appreciate it like we appreciate
them," Wright said at the time.
In 2021, Cumberland County
changed the name of Princeton Street
in the Massey Hill community to
Moose Butler Lane in honor of Butler.
Butler grew up in the Massey Hill
neighborhood and graduated from
Massey Hill High School.
County Commissioner Chair-
man Glenn Adams ordered all flags
at county facilities to be lowered to
half-staff in honor of Moose last week.
e flags remained at half-staff until
Butler's funeral, March 23.
"On behalf of Cumberland County,
I send our deepest condolences to the
Butler family. We have lost a gentle gi-
ant of a man. First and foremost, Sher-
iff Butler cared about people. He was
a fair and just man who thought about
the whole county and how to make it
the best place to live for everyone. We
will miss him," Adams said in a press
release.
In a statement, Fayetteville Mayor
Mitch Colvin also offered condolences
to the Butler family.
"Sheriff Butler contributed tremen-
dously to the safety and security of our
community with his decades of public
service. We are rarely given an op-
portunity to work with a true servant
like Moose Butler. Our thoughts and
prayers are with Sheriff Butler's family
and loved ones."
Governor Roy Cooper tweeted that
Butler was a strong friend and leader.
"Sheriff Moose Butler was a true
public servant who worked diligently
to protect the health & safety of the
people of Cumberland County. I'm
grateful for our decades of friendship,
his strong leadership across our state
and the real difference he made in
the lives of so many," Cooper said.
Butler's family requests that me-
morials be made to Falcon Children's
Home 7569 N. West Street Falcon, NC
28342 and the UNC Lineberger Cancer
Center 123 W. Franklin Street, Suite
510, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.
Community remembers Earl 'Moose' Butler
by HANNAH LEE
Image of former Cumberland County Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler (Image courtesy of
the Cumberland County Sheriff 's Office.)
HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor.
COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom-
ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.
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