In 1974 he created Precious Moments drawings for J&D, which was introduced to the market a year later. Before that, Butcher created many other works, from kitsch oil-paintings to comic strips. These works can be observed at the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri.
Some time before 1978, Sam met Eugene Freedman at a Christian trade show in Los Angeles, California.
The three major products carried by J&D were greeting cards, porcelain figurines, and vinyl dolls. J&D sourced its vinyl dolls in Asia, leading Sam to fall in love with the Philippines. In 1981 Sam and Bill traveled to The Philippines, where they gave financial assistance to a Bible college.
It was after that time that Sam and Bill went separate ways. J&D relinquished its greeting card business, passed its porcelain products to Enesco, and abruptly stopped producing vinyl dolls. The doll business would be reborn as Precious Moments Country Dolls in 1989 - renamed Precious Moments Company Dolls in 1992.
With the success of the Precious Moments series, Butcher founded the Samuel J. Butcher Foundation and Precious Moments, Inc. In 1989, he completed the construction of the Precious Moments Chapel. He privately funded the purchase of land on an island near Manila (Sampaguita Gardens in Aklan), and built a resort. Through this resort Sam provides employment and training opportunities for people from Aklan and students from other provinces in Western Visayas.
Later he moved to St. Charles, Illinois and lived with his children.
Butcher began to spend more time at his resort in The Philippines as the success of Precious Moments rose. At the height of popularity, Sam fell ill due to strokes brought on by self-medicating - his children brought him back to the States, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated. He then returned to the Philippines.
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