John Edward "Butch" Scruggs, 71, of Covington, passed away on Aug. 17, 2020.  

Butch is survived by his wife of 52 years, Joan Scruggs; son, Shannon Scruggs and wife, Dana, of Senoia, Ga.; daughter, Sharmi Rivera and husband, Dan, of Atlanta, Ga.; granddaughters, Haley Lee and her husband, Weston, Taylor Scruggs, Alyson Scruggs, Peyton Lawrence and Ava Ehrman; grandsons, Chandler Lawrence, Jay Rivera, Luke Rivera and Jaden Ehrman; one great-granddaughter, Dallas Sage Lee; sister and brother-in-law, Margaret Parker and her husband, Jack; many sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews; and best friend, his dog, Squirt.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Hulen and Bessie Scruggs.  

Butch began his work as an addiction counselor in 1996 and was ordained a Baptist minister that same year. He and his wife, Joan, founded and have operated Damascus Road Recovery in Covington for 18 years. Damascus Road is Butch’s legacy. He mentored and led men from prison, homelessness and addiction to a life of recovery. There are hundreds of alumni of Damascus Road that Butch showed how to live life sober and be great men, husbands, fathers and sons — returning them to their families. Thousands of lives have been touched by Butch’s work at Damascus Road by teaching one man the way, that man taught another, and that man taught another, and so on and so forth. 

A private memorial service officiated by Pastor Mike Franklin and Pastor Chris Connor will be held Sept. 5, 2020, at 11 a.m., at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Covington. 

In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for the continued work Butch started at Damascus Road Recovery, P.O. Box 1555, Covington, GA 30015, or online at damascusroadrecovery.org.