By Mark Dahl
Platinum Life Master David Butler of Keswick VA died Nov. 13 at
age 73, and with his passing, the bridge world has lost a
fine gentleman, an outstanding player and a friend to
many. I first played with Dave in 1975,

and after our first session, in which we had a 73%
game, we looked at one another and said, “We
should play again.” We did so, for 35 years. He
combined a keen, analytical mind with poker skills
that made him unflappable and unreadable at the
table. He is perhaps the finest player who never
finished first in an open NABC event. Among his
achievements were finishing second in the 2007
Senior Swiss Teams, making the semifinals of the
Grand National Teams in 2004, earning four other
top-10 finishes in NABC+ events as well as over
100 Blue Ribbon qualifications. Most importantly,
as a quiet country gentleman, David was my dear
and patient friend.
Friend John Miller wrote, “From the moment I
began to play bridge in Charlottesville in the 1980s,
I looked to Dave as the example of how to play the
game. He showed me the value of temperament.
You would never know that he had landed in an
inferior contract, and when all the tricks had been
turned he often had made lemons into lemonade.
We played only occasionally, especially after I left
Charlottesville, but in one memorable regional,
we lost the knockout finals to Meckwell by 1
IMP in overtime. As was Dave’s habit, he took
responsibility for that lone IMP that any of us
could have secured, overlooking the fact we would
never had made it to overtime had he not played
brilliantly before. I will miss him greatly.”
Not only was he a great bridge player, but
also he gave back significantly to the game in his
positions as unit president and representative to
the district board. He could be seen setting up and
taking down bridge tables, announcing winners as
he handed out prizes, patiently answering bridge
players’ questions and rectifying the accounts of
the various tournaments he helped run. Knowing
that the bridge-playing community needed to
lower the average age of its members, Dave gave
generously to the USBF Junior Fund.