Dr. Richard Oliver Butcher

Richard Oliver Butcher was born May 16, 1939 in Selma, Alabama to the late Mr. and Mrs. Aljah Langston Butcher, Sr. He is the second eldest of five children. He attended public schools in Cleveland, OH graduating from Glenville High School in 1956. He received a BS degree from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA in 1960 and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1964 from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN. He became an officer in the U.S. Navy completing a rotating internship at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Great Lakes, IL. He was stationed at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego and thereafter on troop transport ships transporting troops to Vietnam. He completed his residency in general practice at Riverside General Hospital; and was certified by the Medical Board of California in 1969. Richard married Vickie Knight in 1964 and their union was blessed with 5 children: Richard II (Nicole), April Noble, Kelley, Langston, Crystal and foster child, Gina Clifton. Dr. Butcher has been a member in good standing of the National Medical Association since 1970. He has practiced medicine in the heart of the African American community for several decades. In 2014 he served as Chief of Staff at Alvarado Hospital. Dr. Butcher and Vickie co-founded the charitable organization Water for Children Africa, Inc., in 1993 with the mission of providing safe sustainable water to rural villages in Africa. He volunteered as team physician for Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, CA for over 35 years. He performed physical exams for the school athletes, attended games and treated student injuries. He also served as physician for all the teams his children and grandchildren played on. In 2005, he was inducted into the Granite Hills High School Honorary Hall of Fame. He served as Medical Director of the Alliance for African Assistance which has worked to provide a variety of assistance to refugees and also served as ringside physician for Boxers for Christ and general physician for the Amateur Boxing Association of San Diego. Richard has worked diligently for the betterment of the community outside of medicine. He has been a loyal Sunday School teacher at Bethel AME Church for many years; a member of the Boule`, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity; an active member of his beloved fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha and a lifetime member of the NAACP. He was an old-fashion ‘family man’ and seldom missed family events. He was a devoted son to his parents and brother to his siblings, Aljah Langston, Jr. and Gilbert both of whom are deceased, as well as to Ronald, who resides in Cleveland, Ohio and Terry Lee Radney (Charles), of Fontana, California. Dr. Butcher’s professional accolades are many. When he began his practice in San Diego in 1969, he was one of two physicians who did home deliveries and delivered many babies during his early practice. He was a founder of the Alternative Birthing Center at Paradise Valley Hospital which provided a home-like atmosphere for giving birth with the safety net of hospital intervention if necessary. Paradise Valley Hospital acknowledged Dr. Butcher for his service with wisdom, mercy and love. He served on the Board of Directors and was acknowledged for his distinguished and dedicated service to Pacific Coast Bank. He was a founding member and first president of the San Diego Chapter of the NMA, was President of the Golden State Medical Association and also President of the National Medical Association. In 2015, Dr. Butcher was honored by this organization as Physician of the Year. He was the first African American to hold the office of President of the SD County Medical Association and was active in the leadership of both the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He was a long term member of the California Institute of Medical Quality Assurance where he led surveys in the western states to assure that stand alone medical practices were certified and held to the highest standards of care for their patients. He inspired and supported medical students across the nation through the SNMA as well as at UCSD where he was recognized for his outstanding service to the School of Medicine. Richard was honored by and serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Sports Medicine Foundation, which provides treatment for injured youth with limited financial means in order to return them back to health, life and sports. The San Diego Black Nurses Association paid tribute to Dr. Butcher as “a medical icon to the Black community of San Diego and a doctor of high professional status among local and national peers, a man of integrity and an honor to us all.” The local American Cancer Society honored him for his contributions to the under-served and diverse communities of San Diego and The California Black Health Network presented him with an award of his exemplary leadership in the health field for all the citizens of San Diego County. He will be greatly missed by his wife of 53 and a half years, Vickie, and all their children; his brother Ronald, brother-in-law William Knight and sister Terry Radney (Charles), his sisters-in-law Tabor Knight and Minnie Butcher; daughter-in-law Nicole; his grandchildren; Caiel and Jaylyn Noble, Jordan Butcher, Lena and Zara Butcher and Garrett Clifton; nieces and nephews. Martina, Christopher, and Jamil Radney, Melanie Wilcher, Gilda, Nicole & Yvette Butcher, Lenora Pace, Tracy (Greg Bey), Adriana, Aljah, Cheryl & Eric Avant and a host of other family members, friends and colleagues.