Chalmers McNair Butler

Chalmers McNair Butler, 89, passed away peacefully with family by his side on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Clemson, South Carolina.

Born on July 31, 1935, in Hartsville, South Carolina, Chalmers was the son of the late Chalmers McKorrell Butler and Christine McNair Butler.

As the son of a multi-talented father who was an engineer, had served as a Naval officer in World War II, founded two hosiery mills, was appointed by the US Senate to the position of Hartsville postmaster, and later designed golf courses as a hobby, Chalmers was taught early in life how to use all available tools, both literally and figuratively. This led to a childhood full of exploration and adventures, which perhaps were not so favorably characterized as adventures until later in life. Nevertheless, they would form the foundation for a lifetime spent pursuing knowledge, persisting, and doggedly chasing precision.

After graduating from Hartsville High School in 1953, Chalmers followed in the footsteps of his father and enrolled at Clemson University, where he studied electrical engineering. He excelled academically and his studies were always his top priority, but, like his father, he had many aptitudes and participated in several other activities. In 1955, he was a member of the Clemson golf team and represented the school in the 1955 Atlantic Coast Conference golf tournament. During the prior season, according to unpublished reports, Wake Forest golfer Arnold Palmer was purported to have made one of the greatest contributions to the field of computational electromagnetics when he suggested to Chalmers that he should focus on engineering instead of golf. As a senior in 1956-57, Chalmers was selected to be a member of the senior platoon (Clemson was originally a military school and had remained as such until 1955), a group that newspaper articles at the time described as “the fancy drill platoon.”

In 1957, Chalmers completed his undergraduate studies, graduating with a BS in electrical engineering. He remained at Clemson to teach and pursue a master’s degree, which he completed two years later, graduating at the end of 1959. Shortly thereafter, he was awarded a PhD fellowship at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. It was during his time in Madison that he met two of the most influential people in his life. The first was Professor Jean van Bladel, who would eventually serve as Chalmers’s major professor for his PhD studies. Dr. van Bladel was on his way to becoming a world-renowned authority on electromagnetic theory and had high technical standards, which resonated with Chalmers. The two forged a lifetime friendship and collaborated frequently throughout their careers. When van Bladel published the second edition of his prominent book on electromagnetic theory, he asked Chalmers to review it in its entirety, page by page.

The second (chronologically only, of course) person that came into his life during his time in Madison was Mary Lacey, a young graduate student from Texas who was studying French. During the one year they overlapped on campus, they began a courtship that would continue for several years after they both graduated and left Madison to begin their careers. In March of 1966, Mary and Chalmers were married in Mary’s hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas, and then began their life together in Oxford, Mississippi, where Chalmers was the Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Mississippi. They spent the next 59 years together as devoted husband and wife until Mary’s death in March of 2025.

After completing his PhD in 1962, Chalmers spent one year teaching at Louisiana State University before accepting the position at the University of Mississippi. It was at Ole Miss where he began to earn national recognition as a highly skilled researcher, a tireless worker, and an exceptional teacher. Under his guidance and leadership, the electrical engineering department gained notice – and significant funding – from the U.S. Army and Air Force as well as the National Science Foundation. Over the course of only six years, Chalmers played an instrumental role in transforming an unaccredited electrical engineering department into a nationally recognized center of electromagnetics research. In 1977, the University established a Distinguished Professorship program to identify and recognize what it described as extraordinary teachers and scholars at the school. At just 41 years old, Chalmers was one of two professors named as the University’s first Distinguished Professors.

Following the success at Ole Miss, his career path took him to a short stint at the University of Houston and then, in 1985, back to Clemson, his alma mater, where he would spend the remainder of his career, eventually being named an Alumni Distinguished Professor and the Warren H. Owen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Chalmers was also very active in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and its Antennas and Propagation Society. He was honored with IEEE’s Fellow distinction and was a dedicated member of Commissions B and F of the United States National Committee for the International Union of Radio Science (USNC-URSI), serving in countless leadership positions and advocacy roles, including serving as the Chair of USNC-URSI Commission B from 1983 to 1985. His outstanding research gained him international recognition, and he served the international community in his role as Chair of Commission B (Electromagnetic Theory) of international URSI from 1997 to 1999. He was also a member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Eta Kappa Nu.

His reputation as a researcher, scientist, and teacher remained unsurpassed throughout his career. The list of his accomplishments, honors, awards, and contributions is lengthy enough to be unwieldy in an obituary and listing them all would only diminish their combined magnitude and significance. His profile on the IEEE website, linked here, (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/author/37329349800), offers a view into many of those honors and awards.

His peers described him as a great scientist, one who could “thread the needle” in computational electromagnetics, but also a trusted friend, a kind human being, and an advocate for those who were early in their careers or training and needed a supportive nudge. To his many graduate students he was a mentor, and several point to him as their inspiration for pursuing a career in research or teaching, often both. They describe his teaching style as demanding, insisting on rigor in derivations and grammatical accuracy and clarity in writing, but also as foundational for their future career success. His many professional accomplishments were indeed a source of great pride for Chalmers, but it was in his teaching and mentoring, his role as Dr. Butler, where he derived the most satisfaction and enjoyment. He was one of the lucky ones – he discovered his passion early in life and built a distinguished career while immersed in it.

When he reluctantly moved into “retiring” (a process, not an occurrence with a fixed date as in the more common “retirement”) from Clemson, he found a renewed love for woodworking. It allowed him to continue to work with his hands and provided an ideal outlet for his need to think, to measure, to calculate, and to exercise precision. He built beautiful furniture and jewelry boxes for his beloved granddaughters, hurricane-proof work benches and stools, and all sorts of unusual implements and tools to further enhance the woodworking experience for his group of garage and basement woodworking friends.

His other passion during “retiring” was service to the Clemson Class of 1939 and its endowed Faculty Award for Excellence, which Chalmers won in 1997. Almost certainly, there was no other honor or award that he received throughout his entire career that meant more to him. Following their graduation, almost all of the members of the Class of ’39 served the United States in World War II, which was profoundly meaningful for Chalmers because of his great admiration for his own father who had served in World War II. While retiring, Chalmers took a deep interest in assisting one of the still-living Class officers in researching and documenting details about the families of the original Class members. This ultimately led to the publication of The Chronicles of the Class of ‘39.

Chalmers combined his woodworking and Class of ’39 endeavors and constructed an artisan-esque, handmade mallet for striking the Guard House Bell in the Cadet Life Garden at the South Carolina Botanical Garden to honor deceased class members every year in the annual Class of ’39 Memorial Service. The mallet continues to be used to honor class members and, poetically, will be used to honor Chalmers himself.

Chalmers also dedicated himself to staying in contact with family members of deceased members of the Class, seeing to it that they were invited to the annual memorial service. He was the personification of loyalty and compassion.

Chalmers was indeed dedicated to his career, and he (rightfully) earned the reputation as a tireless worker, sometimes workaholic, often working through the night if the need arose. But when the chips were down, he always put family first – without exception and without hesitation. When the family moved to Clemson in 1985, for Chalmers, it brought him closer to his roots in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina and, more importantly, put him only a short drive from his big sister, whom he adored and always looked up to, and her family, which was an extended family to him. Chalmers was a loyal and loving husband, committed to providing for his family and allowing his wife and son to enjoy life to its fullest. As a father he was giving with his time as a little league baseball coach, Pinewood Derby pit crew member, a science fair project partner, and a calculus tutor (often in the wee hours of the morning). He was the Best Man in his son’s wedding and the best man in his son’s life.

Chalmers is survived by son, Hardy Butler, and his wife, Rachel, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and his beloved granddaughters, Elizabeth Anne and Caroline Haden.

Chalmers was preceded in death by his cherished wife of 59 years, Mary Butler; his sister, Suzanne Butler McLeod; and his parents.

A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 2:00PM in the churchyard cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pendleton, South Carolina, 328 E Queen St, Pendleton, SC 29670.

A festive celebration of life will be held in Clemson at a later date.

The family would like to express its sincere and eternal gratitude to the caregivers and staff at Dominion Senior Living in Clemson, who cared for Chalmers for over a year and a half. They are true warriors of patience and compassion. The family would also like to express its equally sincere appreciation and gratitude to VIA Health Partners, the hospice care providers who made it possible for Chalmers to navigate the end of life with dignity and peace.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to:

Clemson Honorary Class of ’39 Faculty Award

https://iamatiger.clemson.edu/giving (enter “Class of 39” in the Fund keywords box, select The Class of ’39 Award for Excellence Endowment)

or

VIA Health Partners at www.viagiving.org/donating

Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home is assisting the family.