Name: Beaver Island-born Robert “Butch” Pischner dies in Arizona in 1997
Start: 1997-02-14
End: 1997-02-14
Location: Beaver Island

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago — Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

Event

Date: 1997-02-14
Kind: Death
Where: Beaver Island
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: deathfamilymilitarycommunityheritagecommunication
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

Robert Allen “Butch” Pischner, born on Beaver Island in 1944, died in Phoenix on February 14, 1997. The April obituary and tribute recount his U.S. Army service as a Vietnam-era helicopter pilot, later work as a truck driver, and the family’s plan for a July funeral Mass and burial on Beaver Island.

Evidence limits

The newspaper obituary and tribute are family and community notices; they do not provide military-service records, a death certificate, or a later burial confirmation.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, April 1997, “Robert Allen (Butch) Pischner” and “A Tribute to Robert Allen Pischner.”
Reports that Pischner, born on Beaver Island December 30, 1944, died in Phoenix on February 14, 1997; the obituary describes his Vietnam-era U.S. Army helicopter service, later truck-driving career, family, and a planned July funeral Mass and burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1997-04_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, April 1997, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the obituary and tribute.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1997-04_Beaver-Beacon

Added 5 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Island-born Robert “Butch” Pischner dies in Arizona in 1997”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-robert-butch-pischner-death-1997/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, April 1997, “Robert Allen (Butch) Pischner” and “A Tribute to Robert Allen Pischner.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

BibTeX for “Beaver Island-born Robert “Butch” Pischner dies in Arizona in 1997”RIS for “Beaver Island-born Robert “Butch” Pischner dies in Arizona in 1997”