DR. EUGENE BUTORI, ORTHODONTICS CLASS OF 1953
Dr. Eugene “Gene” Butori passed away on Oct. 18, 2022 after a brief illness. He was 99.
He was born on Jan. 11, 1923 in Butte, Mont., to Leon Butori and Frances Grosso. The family lived in Meaderville, the Italian section of Butte, and owned a renowned restaurant called the ARO Cafe. He attended Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., where he played basketball. He married the love of his life, Virginia Novak of Butte, in 1945. He graduated from the University of Oregon Dental School in Portland in 1946.
He joined the U.S. Army help pay for the cost of dental school and served his two-year hitch in the Army Dental Corps in Japan from 1946 to 1948, when he was honorably discharged. He then went into general dentistry practice in Portland, Ore., for a number of years before receiving specialty training in orthodontics. He was the founder of the Portland Orthodontics Group and retired from practice in 1986.
Dr. Butori was a highly regarded orthodontist, a long-time member of Portland Golf Club, a violinist, a carpenter, and an instrument-rated pilot.
He is survived by his daughter, Lauren Davis; son Tom; grandchildren Joe, Nick, Renee, Julian, and Cirus; great-grandchildren Konsue, Tom, and Portia; Butori, Grosso, Walsh, and Collins relatives; priest friends Reverends Freddy Ocun, Cornelius Ssekitto, Francis Njau, Richard Thompson, and Martin King; and good friends and golf partners Chuck Carl, Mick Onustock, Dick Lalli, Bob Coleman, and Vlado Baricevic. He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia; sister Leona (Dennis) Walsh; and brother Neil (Louise). (Legacy.com)