David Gardner Butterworth, formerly of Hingham and Hanover, Massachusetts; Ocean Point, East Boothbay, Maine; and Hilton Head, South Carolina, passed away at home in Hilton Head on June 5, 2026, with his wife Alison and son David at his side.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, David graduated from Thayer Academy in Braintree and Nichols College in Dudley. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, David returned to the family business, Joseph Middleby, in Boston, which Sands, Taylor & Wood subsequently bought. He then worked with Silbert Paper Company before moving on to Perkins Paper Co., in Taunton, from which he retired in 2007.

He and Alison then moved to Hilton Head and Ocean Point. David was all about giving back to the communities in which he lived.

In Massachusetts, he was a member of the Hanover Town Government Study Committee, the Massachusetts Retail Bakers Association, the Norton Jaycees, the Hingham Yacht Club, and a past member of the United Church of Christ, Norwell.

In Hilton Head, he volunteered for the Deepwell Project, was a member of the Sea Pines Men’s Club, and was a frequent visitor to the Heritage Library, where he researched his family roots that made him so proud and enabled him to become a member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

In his days in Maine, he was a grant writer for Rebuilding Together, a long-standing member of the Boothbay Harbor Country Club, a member and president of the Ocean Point Colony Trust, and the life of any party within earshot.

He had many passions over the years: 60s music (The Rolling Stones, Animals, Beach Boys, etc.); sailing; being irritated on the golf course; Sunday softball; tennis; hockey, baseball joys and heartbreaks; bocce on the lawn with the neighbors; lobster bakes; his Dad’s dry humor; some choice Ogden Nash poems; hijinks with his Hingham buddies; those crazy Perkins trips; and, of course, the many, many rounds of hide-and-seek with Zoe Anne and Calum, among many other loves.

But his primary love was his family: his angelic wife Alison and son David, his dynamic and brilliant daughter-in-law Croi McNamara, and his just incredible grandchildren Zoe Anne and Calum; his sister Joan (whom he looked up to so much) and her amazing daughters Heather, Jen and Amy; and Alison’s brother Martin and sister-in-law Kate and their four amazing children Erica, Bruce, Andrea and Dana. And family extended beyond genes for David, and he went with the love of many, many neighbors (new and old), professional colleagues, fellow jokesters, and others whose path he was lucky to cross. And the beloved Ben watched over it all.

David will be buried in a family ceremony in Braintree, Massachusetts. The family will celebrate David’s life on Aug. 15, 2026, at 3 p.m. at the Wilson Chapel on Ocean Point and then 4-6 p.m. at the Casino.

For anyone interested in donating in his name, he and his family were proud of his work for Deep Well Project of Hilton Head (deepwellproject.org) and Rebuilding Together of Lincoln County (rebuildingtogether-lc.org).