Tom Butler was the news director and then news vice president of Paducah’s WPSD-TV, he was widely respected as an example of strong, professional, accurate, fair and ethical journalism, and for the many outstanding journalists whose careers he fostered. At one time, the three major stations in Louisville all had anchors he had mentored. One of his lessons was, “Have an insatiable curiosity about the world around you. No subject should be off limits to the curious.” After graduating from Union University and working in radio in Jackson, Tenn., his hometown, he came to WPSD as an announcer/reporter in 1962 and stayed 35 years, developing encyclopedic knowledge of the station’s 50-county service area, expanding the news department (including a bureau in Carbondale, Ill.), maintaining a high level of trust among his audience, and doing weekly in-depth interviews with newsmakers, often getting them to break news. Known as a humble and caring servant leader. He died on March 31, 2017.