John David Buttny recently passed away after a long life of activism and community service. From organizing to working for elected officials, he was a remarkably committed, generous member of the community. John rarely said “no” when asked to work on issues ranging from the Vietnam War to environmental protection to homelessness; from Isla Vista to the Goleta Valley and from the Gaviota Coast to the bucolic Santa Ynez Valley.
John was born in 1938, one of five siblings, and raised in Allendale, New Jersey, by John, his German father, and Irene, his Italian mother. Following his graduation from high school in 1955, he joined the U.S. Navy, sailing the oceans to see the world from aboard a naval destroyer. Following his Navy stint, John earned his bachelor’s degree on the GI Bill at the University of New Hampshire. John then attended grad school at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he studied the French Resistance. This was during the 1960s, when protests against the Vietnam War were raging. As a result, John became active in the Boulder Chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society.
Following his many years of anti-war activism, John moved to the Colorado high country, making speakers for stereo systems. There in the Rocky Mountains, he met June Standley, and they had a son, Josh. But they separated after a time: June and Josh moved to Isla Vista, and John moved to Chicago, where he continued his activism. He then relocated to Bolinas, California, where he took time to rethink his activism. He’d been visiting his son in Isla Vista regularly and decided to move there to be closer to him.