“Butch was a tireless advocate for Hamilton who loved our community unconditionally,” said Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith. “His presence will be sorely missed.”
Hubble was born in Cincinnati and his family moved to Hamilton in 1960. He graduated from Garfield High School in 1962. He joined the Navy and retired in 1988 as a commissioned officer. He then joined the San Diego Police Department and retired from the traffic division in 2002.
Hubble was honored in 2013 with SELF's Janet Clemmons Community Service Award. Jeff Diver, executive director of Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families, said he was "tremendously saddened" when he heard the news Sunday.
“He was a real hands-on person with a huge heart, big heart. I really felt a personal loss as well as a loss to the community,” he said.
Diver said Hubble, who served on the SELF board, had been a volunteer for the nonprofit’s home repair efforts for the past several years, and was part of a group that traveled to Racine, Wisconsin in 2009 to look at that home repair blitz program. He then helped implement the program in Butler County, Diver said.
Hubble was most notably the executive director of the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Hamilton, and stepped down earlier this year due to health issues.
He also founded in 2004, with a core of like-minded individuals, the Hamilton Community Council, and launched the CLEEN program (Comprehensive Litter Education and Enforcement Now) in 2013, similar to a program Hubble started as a San Diego police officer, using grant money to put off-duty, undercover police on the street to write tickets for littering and dumping.
“Butch did work tirelessly on community initiatives and was the driving force behind the CLEEN program,” said Hamilton Police Chief Scott Scrimizzi. “I worked very close with Butch the past three years and considered him a friend.”
Hubble also served on the board for the Hospice of Hamilton, which is a part of the Hospice of Cincinnati.
“The most striking thing about Butch was how thoughtful he was about issues,” said Sandra L. Lobert, President and CEO, Hospice of Cincinnati. “He was always considering all sides of a discussion, and weighed his comments against his personal values and considerable integrity. He was a soft-spoken, big-hearted leader in the community, and he will be greatly missed.”
Bob Harris, South East Civic Association president, said he worked on a few projects with Hubble. He said they didn’t always agree — many times they’d “agree to disagree” — but “in his heart he felt what he was doing was the best for the community.”
Hubble was the Butler County Democratic Party’s nominee in 2008 and 2010 for the Butler County Commission.
“His passionate desire to help young people to succeed and the Hamilton community to fulfill its promise has always been on display,” said Butler County Democratic Party spokesman Dave Spurrier. “His selfless dedication to community is an example to us all.”
His 2010 commission opponent, Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, said they became friends during the campaign, and he invited her to events at the Booker T. Washington Center.
“I thought a lot of him, and I appreciated his commitment,” she said.
She said Hubble had “touched hundreds of lives” in Hamilton and set an example for future generations.
“He really did do a lot,” Carpenter said. “I think the next generation steps up and gets involved in the community and make it a better place.”
Hubble is survived by his children, Nichola Kim Sanderson, Elaine Leslie Hubble, Evonne Michelle Hubble, Jesse Philip Hubble (MaryAnn) and Katherine Lee Hubble (Miguel), 12 grandchildren, four great grandchildren, an aunt, and a host of nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the family.
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