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A cheeky grin; a mischievous glint in his eye; glass in hand; booming voice; a hearty laugh. This is Dad - larger than life; a party's life and soul. But also, the quiet man. Reading, listening, writing, thinking, walking. His mind enquiring; his counsel wise and sound. A great romantic; a lover of life and all it bestowed - from steak fillet and the finest wine, to a walk in the woods or a wet wintry afternoon. He lived life to the full and attacked death with every weapon he possessed. His strength, courage and resilience in the face of fate was awe-inspiring. I will miss his warm hugs, his sloppy kisses, his lively conversation, his love of us all under his roof. I will miss his crazy dancing, his quirky tendencies - the day he decided that he and mum would only converse in operatic song; or how, to treat his illness, he prescribed forced laughter. An eccentric character with few inhibitions. A loyal, generous friend; a devoted father; an adoring husband. Life without him will be so much the poorer; yet, oh so rich for the memories we are left with.

John and I studied together for the exams of the Chartered Auctioneers' and Estate Agents'Institute from 1966 to 1968. Truly it was, I think, an exceptional intake, with a remarkable proportion of gifted, eccentric and outstanding people; nevertheless, John was head and shoulders above the rest of us. Even then he was a man of stunning erudition, immensely knowledgeable and widely-read, enquiring, thirsty for other people's views and generously eager to share his profound intellect without ever being condescending or dismissive. I learnt so much, sharing a pint or two with him and Frank Lewis, and often a few others as well, in the Colton Arms, under the benificent eyes of Norman and Dorothy. Words, words, words - for so many reasons and purposes - who could forget John's rendition of The Lake Isle of Innisfree, delivered in tones that almost perfectly mirrored WB's in his own recording? A raucous party in Carnwath Road witnessed an animated conversation between John and myself, lasting for ages, and conducted entirely in cod Russian - he was wholly convincing, I less so. Moreover it was not just other students who respected John's abilities; lecturers such as Ernie Green, Theo Branker, Bob Wright and Pete (Jimmy) Lancaster also conversed and debated with him with equal measures of gusto and gravity. Recognition of his intellect was well-established and sustained. I was fortunate to remain in contact with John when we embarked upon our professional lives in London, and for some time we lived not far apart, in Sutton and worked in the West End, and so were in touch regularly: Fino's wine bar off Wigmore Street remains a fond, if rather vague, memory. In 1984, however, I moved to Devon and contact became more erratic. I think the last time I saw John was about fifteen years ago, but it was as if we had last met the previous evening: his warmth and welcome were immediate and effusive. I am miserably regretful that I didn't make the opportunity to see him more often and more recently, but I nevertheless treasure having had the privilege of his friendship and the honour of experiencing his wisdom, hospitality, humanity and humour. Nulli secundus.

In the 37 years I worked, lunched and laughed with JB, I had many memorable times and no doubt these will be echoed in other friends' notes. I will stick to one. When setting up his own practice, he decided not to run with 'Butler & Co', 'John Butler and Associates' or any other standard and boring title, but decided to invent his new Partner, the Honorable Giles Rosyth, scion of generations of landed gentry in London and Scotland ( or so John claimed........) Before Giles went abroad to teach Land Economy in Turkmenistan, he had a farewell party and I fondly recall several property luminaries who claimed to have seen Giles in some London wine bar. It was typical of John to come up with a completely ficticious marketing ploy which greatly amused those in the know, did no harm whatever and still lets people claim to have bumped into Giles. A toast to you, old friend. You are sorely missed.

Unlike previous contributors, my contacts with JB had little to do with business as I came to know John as a friend through our sons being at school together. He was a vocal supporter at rugby matches, and an enthusiastic, committed, and practical PTA committee man. The quality of the offerings at parental prep school functions went up exponentially once JB took charge of wine selection. For those like me whose Quiz nights contribution was minimal, JB could be relied on to amass correct answers to offset one's own "nul points". He could also with gusto and merriment overlook social gaffes committed at such events (by me, if you couldn't guess). Everything that needed saying has been said about his phenomenal breadth of knowledge and learning and I agree with those comments. I don't recall ever "bettering" him over facts but that may have also been due to his capacity to remain unaffected by considerable (nay prodigious?) amounts of red wine. I have wonderful memories of various alcohol fuelled marketing events as a JB guest even whilst unsure why, as a non influential banker, I was there in the first place. Possibly just to show the world JB was a tolerant man who could befriend anyone! The description "larger than life" can be hackneyed and overused but definitely not when applied to John as it has already been on these pages by one of his daughters, and in conversation to me by others who knew him. He will be missed enormously not only by those who saw a lot of him but also by those of us who, whilst not in that category, know life was richer for JB having been a friend and contemporary.

I first met John on Croydon in September 1975 and from that moment he was a great sounding board for me ever willing to listen to my ideas, troubles and the like. When he was at Conrad Ritblat and I at Healey and Baker we concluded a deal together which as ever required a lunch in celebration.John suggested Durrants Hotel as being half way, but then history was his subject not geography. As we started John suggested that we split the cost and I readily agreed: 'Fine' said John ' in that case I will pay for the food and you can pay for the wine.' I later had to explain my expenses to a partner and simply explained that I had been out negotiated again by JB. I learnt so much from you John but that is a lesson I have never forgotten, thank you so much.

I first met John when I attended West London College where we were both studying the CAEAI course which converted to the RICS whilst we were studying there. I remember entering the common room and John walked up to me and said "I am John" and I responded "I am Laurence from Norwich" and he said: "Welome Larry" and I was always known from then on as Larry. You can well imagine how a Norfolk boy was introduced to swinging 60s London by John. John was also President of the Students Society and he arranged a memorable tavern appreciation tour of England, which I will leave to your imagination!On the way across the Fens, we stopped at a lonely and secluded pub and John said "Larry, find out if they are doing luncheon" I walked into the pub and a woman reading The Mirror didn't look up when I asked if she did lunch. All she said was " ploughmans!". I then went back to the coach told John there was lunch and a whole hoard of us entered the pub much to the amazement of the woman. John immediately went behind the bar and started dispensing pints to all and sundry whilst the woman summoned help from the village to produce the lunch. Before our wedding thirty years ago, John arranged my stag night at the Ebury Arms which involved a lady with a large snake, which I am sure many of you may remember but I am still trying to forget!. John read out the best man's speech at my wedding and one of the funniest comments was when he said "marriage is a mixture of pleasure and pain - a bit like watching your mother-in-law driving your prized Bentley over a cliff!". I asked John whether he had any advice for me on marriage and he said "always deny it!". The last time I saw John was when he came to see me in Horning and we had a lovely day sailing on Black Horse Broad. We retired to the New Inn and he had the whole pub in fits of laughter and I remember waving him a bleary goodbye as the taxi driver from our local village took him to Norwich station. Keith later said to me that it was the funniest journey he had ever had. I know that when the time comes for my last page, John will be waiting at the gates with two tankards of champagne and 24 oysters, which was the starter for the Christmas lunches we used to have, saying "you're late Larry". Let's hope so!

I don't claim to have known John well but I loved seeing him at agency parties in the 1980's. I remember him as dapper and fruiy-voiced, usually drinking red wine and always witty. He could talk eloquently about property, culture, humanity and just about anything. If he got bored he sauntered off to see his partner the hon. Giles who was both invisible and ubiquitous, normally stationed near the bar. Behind the humour John was clear, precise and fair in his dealings. Good bye John, I can't be with you on 11 October because I am with your chums Julien, Estephe, Estournel and Emilion in Bordeaux. I suspect you would approve.

Having not seen much of John recently has in no way diminished my memory of him as even though I can't remember what I did yesterday I will always have fond memories of the times we were together and his amusing anecdotes. To all of those lucky enough to have known him will be happy to join in the celebration of his amazing life. John, you will be greatly missed by your family and all those whose lives you touched.

One of the property sector's real characters, and such a kind hearted man. I met John working with him at Conrad Ritblat c.1980, and recall his amazingly witty Butler Rosyth Christmas cards - one in particular a report to a client of the progress, or lack of it, marketing a property through the calendar year due to a busy social calendar. I wish I'd kept a copy. I am glad to see his 'My sweetest deal' column again. In c.1995 I found myself acting for an IT company who had inherited a long lease on this building via a takeover, and by then the freehold was owned by Nigerians. Gosport is not a great office market, the building was un-lettable, and occupied by pigeons - the mess was indescribable. Fortunately, I managed to get planning permission to convert it to 18 flats, and back to back arrange a sale and a surrender to extricate my clients from a horrid lease and over £1m of dilapidations. John and I had a good laugh that the building had continued to cause such problems for 20 years. It was a pleasure to have known him, and the UK property market is the poorer for his untimely departure.

The service was so sad; very JB music, lots of wonderful reminiscences (suitably doctored selection), all a reminder that there are no more JBs being made. Of course he will live on in our memories, and in our retelling of our JB stories (whether we there for the original event or not). I hope we retell those stories for the young & impressionable who are now running or set to run the property business, in hope that a few might break free before the grey haired have all passed on. Goodbye Free Spirit.