Denis J. Butler (1927-2010) was a lifelong resident of Astoria who represented his district in the New York State Assembly for 24 years. He served on the Rules, Aging, Economic Development, Labor and Oversight, Analysis and Investigations Committees and on the Joint Budget Conference Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education, which helped to maintain and increase funding for higher education.

As Chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on the Special Problems of the Aging, he was responsible for the MTA putting the rough paint on the edge of the subway platform to alert the visually impaired that the platform was ending. Assemblyman Butler volunteered with the Lighthouse for the Blind for 20 years. He also served as president of the St. Joseph’s Home School Association, and was a member of the Holy Name Society Parish Council. In 1988, he received the Brooklyn Diocese’s Pro Vita Award, presented by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the unborn and in support of life. In 1992, he received the New York State Catholic Conference Public Policy Award, presented by John Cardinal O’Connor and the Bishops of New York State for his work in support of the Maternity and Early Childhood Foundation. In 2009, he was made a knight of the Papal Order of Saint Gregory the Great in Brooklyn’s St. James Cathedral Basilica by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzo.