Charles Orbin "Butch" Barnett

Charles Orbin "Butch" Barnett, age 81, of Bellbrook, passed away February 23, 2025. Butch was born in Bellbrook, Ohio on June 1, 1943 to the late Charles and Winnie Barnett. 

Butch is preceded in death by his parents; brother, Tom Barnett; sister, Jill Barker; as well as his brother-in-laws, John Murphy III and Don Meredith. 

He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Janet Barnett; son, Mark (Susan) Stewart; daughter, Laurie (Eric) Bolin; son, Ervin Scott Barnett; grandchildren, Rachel (James) DeLecce, Jeffery (Shaira) Pugh, Evan (Aidan) Brouwer, Ben and Jenny Riches; great-grandchildren, Cohen Donegan, Kyler DeLecce, Josiah Brouwer and Lucas Pugh (due in June); siblings, Doris (George) Critz, Janice Meredith, Susan Murphy and George (Tammy) Barnett; sister-in-law, Nancy Barnett and his beloved Yorkie, Bella.

As a boy, he had a business raising rabbits and enjoyed operating the heavy equipment in his dad's excavation business and became known as a very proficient operator. He and his brother, Tom, also enjoyed putting on rodeos with the various farm animals they tended, but only when the parents were out of town. Butch enjoyed his pet donkey, Oscar. He used to come home from school and brag about NOT getting a paddling that day. 

Butch joined the United States Air Force and graduated high school in Germany, where he served at the Bitburg AFB for 4 years, working in communications. He specialized in deciphering coding, often working with classified information. Butch enjoyed this time in the Air Force and came back to the states with a lot of stories. He then worked at Inland, Hidy Honda, Brookside Garage and elsewhere as a mechanic. Butch also worked as a bus driver for RTA and retired after 15 years of service. He prided himself on always being punctual and rarely missing a day of work. 

In his free time, Butch enjoyed playing the guitar and the banjo, listening to Bluegrass, going out to eat, going to flea markets, garage sales, and auctions anywhere he could find a good deal. Butch enjoyed steam engine shows with family and friends, car shows, fishing, bowling, attending festivals, and anything MAGA, but his greatest joy was his family. 

He loved playing with his grandkids, especially the babies and he labeled everyone with crazy nicknames. Butch loved visiting with family here and out of state, and sharing stories with brothers, Tom and George, family and friends of escapades in their wild youth. There was so much laughter when everyone got together. He and Janet, in recent years took a trip to Las Vegas and they also had a chance to go out west and Niagra Falls. 

Butch had a heart for the elderly, often visited shut-ins and he was very generous to those less fortunate than him. He was very humble in his good deeds and lived up to his childhood nickname, "Golden Boy". 

Contributions may be made in Butch's memory to Samaritan's Purse (P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607).

Visitation will be held from 11:00am-1:00pm on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at Newcomer Funeral Home (3380 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Beavercreek), where funeral services will begin at 1:00pm. Butch will be laid to rest with military honors at Fairview Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery (2353 Ferry Rd, Bellbrook) following the service.

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