Sylvester "Butch" John LaBay, Jr.

Sylvester “Butch” LaBay, Jr. of Ford River Township, Michigan, age 75, passed away after a short illness, on Monday, April 15, 2024, at St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay, WI, surrounded by his loving wife and children. He was born the fourth of nine children to Sylvester and Lillian (Wellman) LaBay, Sr. of Escanaba.

Butch loved to hunt, fish, read Western novels, and watch sports. Spending time with his grandchildren gave him great joy.

On May 25, 1991, he married Elizabeth Harris. Together they shared walking the beach searching for pudding stones and hosting family and friends at Jumping Waters, their second home on the shore of Lake Huron near Rogers City.

During Butch’s high school years, he lettered in football, basketball, and track. He was inducted into the honorable mention list of the Great Northern All Conference football squad. He was also part of the first Escanaba team to ever win nine games in a single season. In November 1967, the Daily Press wrote that he was “one of the Peninsula’s most highly regarded linemen.” In the same year. Butch was the only UP player to make the honorable mention list in the Class A All-State selections, also making the All-Upper Peninsula and All-Great Northern Conference teams. In August of 2019, Butch was inducted into the Wall of Fame by the Esky Quarterback Club.

Butch received numerous full-ride football scholarship offers at both in and out of state universities. His path in life, however, took him in a different direction. He was drafted into the United States Army on January 7, 1967, serving in Vietnam for thirteen months as a helicopter mechanic receiving an Honorable Discharge on August 10, 1970. On November 28, 1970, he began a nearly forty-year career at Mead Paper in Escanaba, retiring on June 1, 2010.

Butch is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; children Brad (Angie) LaBay of Ford River Township, Christie Green of Stonington, Jon (Natalie) LaBay of Gainesville, Virginia; grandchildren, Kassidy, Keedan, James, Isabelle, Jeb, Elisabeth, and Emma; sisters, Dixie Wiles, Delores (Larry) Wilson, Ann Van Sicle, Cathie (Dan) DuBord, Louise (Wally) Edington; and brother Peter (Wes Nygaard) LaBay. He was a beloved uncle to many nieces and nephews, and a good friend to his in-laws.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Mary and Jessie; son-in-law Todd Green; nephew Raymond N. Collins; and niece Terrie Ann Meyer.

The family would like to thank the staff of Dickinson County Healthcare in Iron Mountain, and most especially, the physicians and nurses at St. Vincent Hospital for their care and compassion.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to offer an expression of sympathy are encouraged to make a memorial contribution to the Delta Animal Shelter, 6975 County 426 M.5 Road, Escanaba, MI 49829, or online at: https://deltaanimal.org/donate-2/ ; or to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306, or online at: https://t2t.org/

There will be a time of visitation from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 22, 2024, at St. Anne Parish, 817 S. Lincoln Road, Escanaba, MI 49829. Military Honors will be presented at 1:30 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 2:00 p.m. Fr. Fran DeGroot presiding. Immediately following, you are invited to a luncheon held in the parish fellowship hall.

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