Long-time ANS member Ronald Richard Butters 81, passed away in his home on April 6, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. Ron was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in February of 1940. After achieving his PhD at the University of Iowa, he moved to Durham, NC to begin his 40 year career at Duke University. He was a professor of English and Linguistics as well as a founder of the linguistics program at Duke University and held a joint appointment in the Cultural Anthropology Department at Duke. Following his retirement from Duke University in 2007, he developed a consulting firm called Trademark Linguistics and continued working in the field with many distinguished law firms.
Ron loved to travel and experience other cultures and he especially enjoyed the time he spent teaching in Bamburg, Germany and Marrakesh, Morocco, as well as the many lectures and seminars he gave in countries around the world. He was honored to touch the lives of so many students, as well as others, throughout his life.
Ron wrote extensively on naming and trademarks. A detailed list of his work can be found on his website, and you can read his obituary online here.