Butch Traeder coached varsity girls volleyball, girls basketball, and track for 40 years, and at some point, was promoted to the head basketball coach position. Traeder passed away in September of 2022. Prior to his death, Coach Traeder got in a medical incident on campus putting him in the hospital and eventually into assisted living.  

Traeder was beloved by all and will never be forgotten in the FWCD community. Numerous people coached with him, and numerous young athletes were coached by him. Each student and coach have their own unique stories about Traeder. 

Shelly Rains, PE Department Chair/Head Girls Basketball Coach/Assistant Softball Coach, coached girls’ basketball with Traeder and shared what his original plans were when first teaching and coaching at the School.

“His original plan had been to come in and teach for a couple of years because his original goal in life was always to be a mountain skier,” Rains said.

Aimee Jenkins, Assistant Boys Volleyball Coach/Girls Basketball Coach/MS Softball Coach, remembers in depth about his love for each one of his students.

“You never doubted that every kid he saw throughout the day was the most important thing to him that day,” Jenkins said.

Coaches from opposing schools loved having the opportunity to coach against Coach Traeder because his personality was one of a kind. 

“It’s not every day you get to sit down with an opposing coach and have a good conversation with them about something other than the game,” Tatiane Deibert, Greenhill Girls Volleyball Coach, said. “Trader’s funny personality played a big part in us being able to do that.”

On a more personal level, Traeder was not only a friend but a member of the Chisholm family. Ed Chisholm, Head Athletic Trainer and his wife Paige Chisholm, Head Field Hockey Coach have been coaching at Country Day for a combined 64 years. The two got married on June 7, 1997 with Traeder as their best man. Years later, their first child was born: Farris Chisholm ‘19. Traeder was named the godfather to Farris and her younger sister Kaylee Chisholm ‘22. The Chisholm family will forever love and cherish their time with Traeder.

Traeder will be greatly missed by all of the faculty and students within the FWCD community. His celebration of life is on December 17, 2022 at 5:00 PM in the round gym; anyone is welcome to come and share memories of Traeder.