Thomas Warren Butler graduated from Knoxville High School, Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee College of Law. After law school he worked briefly with the late Joseph Yancy and then in 1975 became a founding member of the law firm of Butler, Vines, and Babb, P.L.L.C. where he practiced law for 40 years focusing primarily on medical malpractice cases. Upon retirement, he turned his hobby of oil painting into a full-time career. He displayed his art in several galleries in the region and participated in numerous art shows which promoted charitable causes. He enjoyed Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and Naples, Florida, and he painted extensively in both places. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity; the American, Tennessee, and Knoxville Bar Associations; the Hamilton Burnett Chapter of the American Inns of Court, and the Tennessee Artists Association.