KEY POINTS:
A decade ago, Bruce Butler earned a bravery award for his selfless intervention to save a teenage neighbour under attack from a knife-wielding intruder.
Yesterday, at his funeral, he was remembered as a man who simply got on with life.
Mr Butler died last Friday. He was 86.
Despite his actions, Mr Butler was a reluctant hero.
"He was such a gentleman. He didn't like a fuss," neighbour Barry McBride said.
One person who attended his funeral had come from far away. Mr McBride's daughter Lynley - who was just 16 when she was attacked at the family's Maadi Rd home in December 1998 - had flown in from Japan, where she lives with her professional rugby-playing husband, Daniel Quate.
"They have always kept in touch ... Bruce played such a major part in her life," Mr McBride said.
It was the nightmare that unfolded on an early summer's morning that created the unique bond. Lynley had returned home from the nearby Onekawa shopping centre and answered the door to a man who asked if he could get his ball from the property. She agreed, but later - when she went out to see why he was taking so long - he attacked her.
"He rugby-tackled me and got me on the ground," Lynley said.
She screamed and fought back as her attacker struck several times with a knife.
Mr Butler, who had undergone triple-bypass surgery only two years earlier, heard her screams and did not hesitate to help.
The 75-year-old was cut on his head and upper body in a frenzied attack.
He had surgery and received about 400 stitches. It almost cost him his life.
One of his daughters said at the time that "he still has his sense of humour and he has great inner strength".
Lynley also recovered from wounds and facial injuries, and it was she who put the 20-year-old attacker behind bars for 12 years after recognising him at a Napier supermarket five months later.
Mr Butler was determined to get on with life, and that meant continuing to look after his wife of 60 years, Audrey, who was in poor health.
His heroism led to the creation of the Bruce Butler Bravery Award, instigated by Ron Ward, of Napier Neighbourhood Support.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
