Even after his passing, the legacy of Newman’s beloved “Westside Butterfly Man” Larry Milton continues to spread beauty, kindness, and community spirit across the Westside. Larry Milton was known throughout Newman and surrounding communities for the wooden butterflies he handcrafted in his free time. Larry gave his butterflies away freely to anyone who admired them. When people offered to pay, he gently declined, instead asking them to consider donating to the Newman Animal Shelter or local animal rescues. Today, Larry’s butterflies can still be found mounted throughout neighborhoods—on fences, homes, and gardens—quiet reminders of generosity and compassion.
Following Larry’s passing, one of his neighbors and friends, Rodger LaFleur, stepped forward to help ensure the Butterfly Project did not come to an end. Rodger first met Larry shortly after moving to Newman, during a home project that involved replacing a fence along his property “Well, when I moved to Newman, I bought the house there and I needed to build a pad alongside the house for my RV, which involved removing the fence and replacing the fence along that. And so for the longest time, there’s several weeks that that fence was not there. Larry, he lives right around the corner from me, and he walks. And he walked his dogs by there every day, a couple of times a day. And so I met him, and I gave him—he wanted some of the wood that I had from fences, for his projects. And so I told him, of course, he could have anything that he wanted.”
LaFleur said that initial interaction led to Larry sharing more about who he was and what he loved to do. “When he introduced himself to me, of course, he introduced himself as Larry Milton, also known as the Butterfly Man. And then he told me that he had those butterflies and asked me if I wanted one. And, of course, I did. So, he gave me a butterfly.”
Through that simple act, a friendship formed.
“He and his wife invited us, my wife and I, to his house at one time with several of the other neighbors to play cards or something. So, we got to know him and some of the other neighbors right after moving. He was extremely friendly.” As their friendship grew, Larry showed Rodger how he made the butterflies and the care he put into each one. “He showed me the project, making those butterflies, and he showed me how he did it, and what he did, and the whole process.”
LaFleur shared that he often provided Larry with extra wood and plywood from his own projects “He showed that he could make a pair of butterfly wings out of a 16 by 32 inch piece of plywood. The plywood that I had was all half inch, which, of course, he used quarter inch. But he took whatever he could get. So, I cut the plywood, the half inch plywood, into sections for him so he could make butterfly wings out of it. I also had a bunch of three by threes that he used to make some of the bodies that I gave him. So, we worked—you know, I saw what he was doing, and I helped him in whatever way I could.”
When Larry suffered his first fall and was hospitalized, LaFleur remained in close contact with Larry’s wife, Sheila. “When he fell the first time, of course, Sheila called me because we were friends. She called me and told me that he had fallen and that he was in the hospital… I went over to talk to her and to console her as well and offered whatever we could do to help her. When I went over there, I noticed that Larry had some butterfly wings in the process of completing. And so I, at that point in time, agreed to finish those wings for Sheila and give them to her so she could do whatever she wanted with them.”
LaFleur soon realized the scope of what Larry had left behind. “When I went and got those wings, I found that he had other wings that were also cut out that were not painted. So I took those also. And in the process, I found out that he also had a number of plywood sheets that were already cut out that were up against the wall in the back of his garage.”
Wanting to honor Larry’s work but unable to cut the wings himself, LaFleur reached out to Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District.“I contacted the high school through the superintendent, and of course, my son-in-law, who was on the school board, to see if the students of the wood shop. I couldn’t cut the wings out of the plywood myself… so I contacted the wood shop, and he agreed to cut those wings out for me. There’s about 100 sheets of 16 by 32 inch, quarter inch plywood that I eventually took over to the high school, and he agreed to cut them out for me, and he also agreed to paint them one color.”
Through this connection, additional community support followed, including volunteers from the Gustine Traveling Library who began painting wings. “I gave them five sets of wings, and I will certainly make available to them some more… I’ve got a whole lot of sets of wings, and I also got the paint from Larry’s house. He made the templates so that I drill the holes in the bodies and the wings so the screws will all go together very nicely… the reason he did that was that at any point in time, if he wanted to interchange wings, they would all fit.”
LaFleur hopes to eventually create butterfly kits.“My plan is to put these together as a kit. Give somebody a pair of wings, a body, and the antenna and the screws necessary to put it together… All they need is a Phillips screwdriver.”
When asked about continuing Larry’s tradition of supporting animal rescues, LaFleur emphasized Larry’s generosity. “He did a whole lot more than just give them to the rescue. He gave them to the neighbors, to anybody that wanted one… He did not charge. All he asked was that if you felt the need to pay, you could make a donation.”
LaFleur shared that one of the most meaningful parts of continuing the project is involving youth. “It was brought to my attention that apparently the seniors or the school kids need to have a certain number of community service hours to graduate… they could earn community service hours either for painting them or for cutting them out.” He stressed that the project is entirely about service. “Nobody’s making a profit with this program. It is all community service.” Rodger hopes with continued help, the project can last for years to come. “If I can find somebody that’s willing to help us out… we could continue this project forever.”
LaFleur’s daughter, Kiersten Rivas, shared her gratitude for those helping keep the project alive.“I just want to thank Zack and the Traveling Library for teaming up with my Dad to keep Larry's legacy and memory alive. Larry Milton brought so many smiles to the community and the people in Newman with his Butterfly Creations. When we lost Larry I was saddened to think that would be the end of the Butterflies. I'm so thankful he left behind the blueprints and made so many friends that want to keep up with his inspiring hobby. Thank you to The Newman Woodshop students, Mr McGuire, Mr Justin Pruett, My Dad, Rodger LaFleur, Zack and all of the volunteers at the Traveling Library.”
Frank Rivas, LaFleur’s son-in-law and Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District board member, also shared his appreciation. “A special thank you to the OHS Wood Shop students, Mr. McGuire, Superintendent Justin Pruett, Rodger Lafleur, and Gustine Traveling Library. Larry brought so many butterflies to the communities of the Westside, and it’s wonderful to see his spirit continue to inspire others.”
Following Larry’s passing, one of his neighbors and friends, Rodger LaFleur, stepped forward to help ensure the Butterfly Project did not come to an end. Rodger first met Larry shortly after moving to Newman, during a home project that involved replacing a fence along his property “Well, when I moved to Newman, I bought the house there and I needed to build a pad alongside the house for my RV, which involved removing the fence and replacing the fence along that. And so for the longest time, there’s several weeks that that fence was not there. Larry, he lives right around the corner from me, and he walks. And he walked his dogs by there every day, a couple of times a day. And so I met him, and I gave him—he wanted some of the wood that I had from fences, for his projects. And so I told him, of course, he could have anything that he wanted.”
LaFleur said that initial interaction led to Larry sharing more about who he was and what he loved to do. “When he introduced himself to me, of course, he introduced himself as Larry Milton, also known as the Butterfly Man. And then he told me that he had those butterflies and asked me if I wanted one. And, of course, I did. So, he gave me a butterfly.”
Through that simple act, a friendship formed.
“He and his wife invited us, my wife and I, to his house at one time with several of the other neighbors to play cards or something. So, we got to know him and some of the other neighbors right after moving. He was extremely friendly.” As their friendship grew, Larry showed Rodger how he made the butterflies and the care he put into each one. “He showed me the project, making those butterflies, and he showed me how he did it, and what he did, and the whole process.”
LaFleur shared that he often provided Larry with extra wood and plywood from his own projects “He showed that he could make a pair of butterfly wings out of a 16 by 32 inch piece of plywood. The plywood that I had was all half inch, which, of course, he used quarter inch. But he took whatever he could get. So, I cut the plywood, the half inch plywood, into sections for him so he could make butterfly wings out of it. I also had a bunch of three by threes that he used to make some of the bodies that I gave him. So, we worked—you know, I saw what he was doing, and I helped him in whatever way I could.”
When Larry suffered his first fall and was hospitalized, LaFleur remained in close contact with Larry’s wife, Sheila. “When he fell the first time, of course, Sheila called me because we were friends. She called me and told me that he had fallen and that he was in the hospital… I went over to talk to her and to console her as well and offered whatever we could do to help her. When I went over there, I noticed that Larry had some butterfly wings in the process of completing. And so I, at that point in time, agreed to finish those wings for Sheila and give them to her so she could do whatever she wanted with them.”
LaFleur soon realized the scope of what Larry had left behind. “When I went and got those wings, I found that he had other wings that were also cut out that were not painted. So I took those also. And in the process, I found out that he also had a number of plywood sheets that were already cut out that were up against the wall in the back of his garage.”
Wanting to honor Larry’s work but unable to cut the wings himself, LaFleur reached out to Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District.“I contacted the high school through the superintendent, and of course, my son-in-law, who was on the school board, to see if the students of the wood shop. I couldn’t cut the wings out of the plywood myself… so I contacted the wood shop, and he agreed to cut those wings out for me. There’s about 100 sheets of 16 by 32 inch, quarter inch plywood that I eventually took over to the high school, and he agreed to cut them out for me, and he also agreed to paint them one color.”
Through this connection, additional community support followed, including volunteers from the Gustine Traveling Library who began painting wings. “I gave them five sets of wings, and I will certainly make available to them some more… I’ve got a whole lot of sets of wings, and I also got the paint from Larry’s house. He made the templates so that I drill the holes in the bodies and the wings so the screws will all go together very nicely… the reason he did that was that at any point in time, if he wanted to interchange wings, they would all fit.”
LaFleur hopes to eventually create butterfly kits.“My plan is to put these together as a kit. Give somebody a pair of wings, a body, and the antenna and the screws necessary to put it together… All they need is a Phillips screwdriver.”
When asked about continuing Larry’s tradition of supporting animal rescues, LaFleur emphasized Larry’s generosity. “He did a whole lot more than just give them to the rescue. He gave them to the neighbors, to anybody that wanted one… He did not charge. All he asked was that if you felt the need to pay, you could make a donation.”
LaFleur shared that one of the most meaningful parts of continuing the project is involving youth. “It was brought to my attention that apparently the seniors or the school kids need to have a certain number of community service hours to graduate… they could earn community service hours either for painting them or for cutting them out.” He stressed that the project is entirely about service. “Nobody’s making a profit with this program. It is all community service.” Rodger hopes with continued help, the project can last for years to come. “If I can find somebody that’s willing to help us out… we could continue this project forever.”
LaFleur’s daughter, Kiersten Rivas, shared her gratitude for those helping keep the project alive.“I just want to thank Zack and the Traveling Library for teaming up with my Dad to keep Larry's legacy and memory alive. Larry Milton brought so many smiles to the community and the people in Newman with his Butterfly Creations. When we lost Larry I was saddened to think that would be the end of the Butterflies. I'm so thankful he left behind the blueprints and made so many friends that want to keep up with his inspiring hobby. Thank you to The Newman Woodshop students, Mr McGuire, Mr Justin Pruett, My Dad, Rodger LaFleur, Zack and all of the volunteers at the Traveling Library.”
Frank Rivas, LaFleur’s son-in-law and Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District board member, also shared his appreciation. “A special thank you to the OHS Wood Shop students, Mr. McGuire, Superintendent Justin Pruett, Rodger Lafleur, and Gustine Traveling Library. Larry brought so many butterflies to the communities of the Westside, and it’s wonderful to see his spirit continue to inspire others.”
Though Larry Milton may no longer be walking the neighborhood with his dogs, his butterflies—and the kindness behind them—continue to soar, carried forward by a community determined to honor his legacy.
