Colleagues are remembering former Habersham County Chief Magistrate Judge Jim Butterworth as a Southern gentleman and one of the best mediators around.
Butterworth died Saturday, March 28, at age 77.
“I can tell you he was a wonderful gentleman,” said Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Courts Chief Judge Russell W. Smith. “We’re going to miss him terribly. After he retired as an active judge and stopped practicing law, he was extremely active as a mediator.”
Butterworth had a profound effect on the career of Clarkesville attorney Tricia Hise.
“Before I ever went to college, he and [his wife] Rhonda both offered to meet with me and to talk with me about my career path and the different aspects of going to college and what that could mean in the practice of law, and how my choices as a young person could influence that. He always made time to listen and to offer advice.”
Educated in Gainesville City Schools, Butterworth graduated from Gainesville High School, received his bachelor's degree from North Georgia College and his Juris Doctor from Walter F. George School of Law, Mercer University.
After beginning his law practice with Melton, McKenna and House in Macon, Butterworth moved his law practice to Cornelia in 1974.
He practiced law until beginning full-time service as chief magistrate judge in 1998. He retired in July 2014.
Butterworth also previously served from 1985-1996 as judge of the state court of Habersham County, during which time he was elected president of the Council of State Court Judges of the State of Georgia.
Beginning in 2003, Judge Butterworth was certified as a Registered Neutral by the Office of Dispute Resolution. Until his death, he very much enjoyed his role as a mediator, and had a true gift for helping others think deeply and critically to solve issues.
Hise said Butterworth had just returned from mediating a case in Hiawassee the last time she saw him a couple of weeks before his death.
“He was probably the most successful mediator in this circuit,” Smith said. “He did mediations not just in the Mountains Circuit – Habersham, Rabun and Stephens – but I think all over the state of Georgia. He was one of the best, if not the best, mediator. He continued to be very active and interested in the practice of law, even while he was technically in retirement, so he was a big asset to our community and to our Bar.”
Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Courts Judge B. Chan Caudell said he remembers being in grade school when he met Butterworth.
“Judge Butterworth had a judicial temperament that judges strive for and work to attain, but it came so natural to him,” Caudell said. “He had the ability to calm people in very tense situations and bring a lot of respect to the bench and to the courtroom to the decorum. Then later, as he served as a mediator, he had skill in getting a lot of cases resolved and helping the courts with caseload. I don’t know of any mediator that had more settlements or cases resolved in mediation than he did.”
Hise said mediation was Butterworth’s gift.
“He was a great mediator because he was always very even and he related to people,” Hise said. “He mediated cases all over North Georgia and was very effective at it to where people felt at ease, but they also felt like he was at their level. Jim never expected parties to where Jim was in life. Jim met the parties where they were in life, and that’s why he was so effective.”
Hise said her law office stocked decaffeinated coffee because that’s what Butterworth drank.
“Judge Butterworth was an amazing listener,” Hise said. “He was able to not interrupt or interject and take in the totality of the circumstance or situation before trying to resolve a problem. When he went to resolve the problem, he never expected or demanded a party or an attorney to come to him and where he was in his thought process, where he was on a moral issue – that was never expected. Judge Butterworth was able to meet the party and the attorney at their level, where they were in life, the situation that they were facing, the circumstances that created the conflict or the problem. That’s where he was able to meet them and that’s why he was so effective.”
That listening was there whether he was working in the yard, driving one of his prized antique automobiles or spending time with family and friends.
“It wasn’t just mediation that he did that,” Hise said. “He had practiced that his entire career, just in a different way. He was the same person working in the yard or the same person that met you at the courthouse or the same person that was on the bench when he was magistrate judge. He was the same person.”
Before becoming chief magistrate judge, Gerald Johnson worked for Butterworth in Habersham County Magistrate Court.
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Judge Butterworth for years,” Johnson said. “I have always admired and respected him. He had a commanding presence when he entered a room, but always a gentleman. When he spoke, his voice captured the attention of anyone within listening distance.”
Johnson said there was more to Butterworth than may people saw.
“While working for him in the magistrate court, I began to realize there was a much deeper, more intricate nomenclature to what made him who he was,” Johnson said. “He appeared to always be several steps ahead of any challenges he confronted. He was filled with wisdom, law, and sound advice which he often camouflaged with his sense of humor. Although very private, he loved his family and those closest to him unconditionally.”
Many attorneys in the area say Butterworth was a mentor.
“You could always count on him for good advice and loyalty as a friend,” said Demorest attorney Bruce Harkness. “I know that he has been a practicing attorney for over 40 years, and he has touched countless thousands of lives over the years. No matter what, he was always a Southern gentleman. If you ever shook Jim's hand, you'll know what I am about to say. He had the strongest handshake of any person that I've ever met. He would always grab you tight and pull you close, and he always made you feel important. His smile and laugh were just amazing, and with that smile he could help resolve even tough serious cases.”
Smith said Butterworth also will be remembered for other things.
“What I will always remember is he had a wonderful sense of humor, and he liked to have fun,” Smith said. “He sent me the funniest letter I’ve ever received chiding me good-naturedly about not returning his telephone calls. This is a long time ago.”
Hise and others said Butterworth’s death leaves a hole in the community, not just the judiciary.
“He’s always been a constant, and for him not to be there any more is just heartbreaking,” Hise said.
“Words cannot express the void we now have by losing a giant among us,” Harkness said.
In keeping with COVID-19 restrictions, a private graveside service for immediate family only will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 2, at Yonah Memorial Gardens in Demorest. The service will be livestreamed.
A memorial service may be planned for a later date.
In lieu of flowers and in keeping with Butterworth’s love of the historical South, the family asks that donations be made to the Demorest Woman’s Club Building Restoration Fund. The building that houses the Demorest Woman’s Club was built in 1902 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Donations in Butterworth’s memory can be mailed to Secretary, Demorest Woman’s Club, P.O. Box 231, Demorest, GA 30535.
“He was a wonderful lawyer, a powerful speaker and he was one of a kind,” Smith said. “We’re going to miss him.”
