Turning struggle into support: Leaving a literacy legacy through NCCF
Bob Butler was a brilliant engineer who worked at MIT, NASA and NORAD. But he carried a secret struggle. He had dyslexia, a challenge he later turned into a lasting legacy for adult learners.
With guidance from his longtime financial advisor, Reid Murchison, Butler established a fund at the North Carolina Community Foundation before he died in 2023 to support the Cape Fear Literacy Council and carry his commitment to literacy forward for generations.
Murchison said NCCF offered the flexibility and trusted stewardship Butler needed to make his vision a reality.
“For years, I talked with Bob about what he’d like to do with his assets at the end of his life,” Murchison said. “One year, I asked him what had made the biggest difference in his life. He said his time in the military and at a community college, where he finally learned to read effectively, changed everything. When I asked if he wanted to help others facing similar struggles, there was a light in his eyes.”
“Bob wanted to support people who may not have been on a traditional path but still have so much to offer,” said Yasmin Tomkinson, executive director of the Cape Fear Literacy Council. “This fund aligns perfectly with our mission to help adults gain literacy and language skills to improve their lives.”
Growing up in Wilmington during the 1930s and 1940s, Butler developed an interest in electronics and aviation. “From earliest childhood he was fascinated with electronics and collected the latest technology toys throughout his life,” said Butler’s brother, James.
After graduating from New Hanover High School in 1952, Butler enlisted in the Air Force during the Korean War. He later worked at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory, helping develop a system for managing air traffic control that became the basis for the National Airspace System and NORAD. In the 1960s, he contributed to NASA’s Saturn V Program and later worked at the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Though never formally diagnosed, Butler struggled with what his family describes as moderate dyslexia. James said the condition caused frustration, embarrassment and poor grades in his early school years, leaving a lasting sense of self-doubt. “Throughout his life he struggled with feelings of inferiority,” James said. “In spite of that, he obviously had good intelligence and was capable of competent, high-level technical work.”
Butler’s perseverance became the reason he wanted to help others. Murchison recommended NCCF as a trusted, flexible and cost-effective way to manage the endowment and ensure ongoing support for literacy programs.
“NCCF helps clients figure out the best path for their giving,” Murchison said. “It allows ongoing support for the causes someone cares about, without the hassle of managing it all directly. For Bob, it was the perfect way to ensure his gift would have a lasting impact on literacy and education.”
The fund Butler created will provide thousands of dollars each year to support the Cape Fear Literacy Council’s operating costs.
“It helps keep the lights on and lets us focus on our mission,” Tomkinson said. “Planned gifts like this give us stability, help us sustain our programs, and ensure we can continue serving students year after year.”
For James, the endowment reflects who his brother was: quiet, capable and compassionate.
“It wasn’t a grand gesture meant to impress,” he said. “It was simply a quiet response to hardship and a recognition of the challenges others face, drawn from his own life experiences.”