Tree of Life Congregation Rabbi Jeffrey Myers made a daily call to Bob Butter for comfort and advice.

Butter, a public relations giant in Pittsburgh, helped Myers handle the media onslaught after the Oct. 27, 2018, attack on Tree of Life in Squirrel Hill.

“We knew we would need extra help with being overwhelmed by all of the media requests,” Myers said Wednesday. “We were getting multiple requests every day locally, nationally and internationally. Bob and I became close and my respect for him grew immensely. He always had the right answers.”

Butter, who had a stroke earlier this year, died on Sunday from complications of brain surgery. He was 68.

“I loved Bob,” said Myers, who will deliver Butter’s eulogy on Friday. “An unintended positive that came from Oct. 27, 2018, was that I met Bob. He was a part of my life and to say he was a beautiful human being is an understatement.”

When Myers learned of Butter’s death, he cried.

The two had seen each other in June at the Tree of Life’s groundbreaking for a new campus. They took a picture.

“I will treasure that photo,” Myers said. “Bob is proof that the right people come into your life at the right time. He was Roman Catholic but he referred to me as his rabbi. It was a privilege to know him. He was a man of integrity.”

Myers said he doesn’t plan to write down Butter’s eulogy.

“It will come from the heart,” Myers said. “The heart is better than the written. Bob will live on through all of us. We will share stories about Bob’s indomitable spirit.”

That spirit came through in everything Butter did, said Saul Markowitz, founder of Markowitz Communications, a public relations firm that worked with Butter’s company, Veritas Communications Advisors, on the Tree of Life account.

”Bob was the patriarch of public relations,” Markowitz said. “If you look in the dictionary under public relations, his picture would pop up. This is such a loss.”

Bart Rauluk, director of client services and operations and finance director for Veritas, worked for Butter since 2007. He said many of Butter’s clients became friends. Butter was thinking of semi-retiring, Rauluk said.

“He touched a lot of people,” Rauluk said. “He made an impression. I trusted him and he trusted me. Bob had an even temperament. He cared about inclusion and diversity. I will miss learning from him.”

Butter, with more than 30 years experience in public relations, once told Markowitz that the key to the business was common sense.

“He was one of top PR minds anywhere,” Markowitz said. “He really left his mark on so many people. He loved what he did.”

Butter (who pronounced his name “Boot-er”) worked on the client side of corporate and marketing communications at Veritas, which he founded in 2004. Before that, he worked as a consultant at Ketchum Public Relations.

Laura Ellis, senior client adviser for Veritas, worked for Butter since 2011. The firm’s name came from the meaning “Therein lies truth,” the English translation of the Latin word “Veritas.”

“There are times I would talk to him three to four times a day,” Ellis said. “We had a great working relationship. I could email him at all hours of the day and night and he would reply because he was awake grading papers for his [University of Pittsburgh] students. He was committed to excellence.”

For Butter, it was about relationships first.

“He was such a tremendous mentor,” Ellis said. “Working alongside him in crisis communications, he always remained calm. I am honored to have worked with someone of his caliber.”

According to his obituary from the William Slater II Funeral Service in Greentree, Butter was preceded in death by his mother, Rosemarie (Asturino); father, Charles “Skinny”; sister, Patricia Ann Paul; and brother, Dennis. He is survived by his brother-in-law, Jeff Paul, and his cherished niece, Jennifer Rose Paul.

Butter, born in McKees Rocks, lived in Mount Lebanon since 1990.

“He could announce important news, squash fires, and write an eloquent obituary and press release. Bob’s clients hired him for his communication knowledge and strategies, his brilliant mind, and his ability to troubleshoot and problem-solve. He knew how to collaborate and draw people in, always making you laugh,” the obituary said.

Butter was an active member at Saint Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, where his funeral Mass will be held at 9 a.m. Friday with Bishop David Zubik. Zubik said via email that he has known Butter several years both professionally and personally.

“He was one of the most compassionate and kind people I’ve met, as well as one of the most competent professionals I came to know, especially in the area of communications,” Zubik said. “I will truly miss him much.”

Veritas client Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh will be providing underserved populations with free dental, vision and hearing services on Nov. 1-2 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The organization is dedicating the information booth to Butter. Last year, the event was so crowded that Butter himself manned the information booth for a while.

Butter also arrived at 5 a.m. for media interviews.

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