Butcher began drawing for family and friends, commercializing his artwork in 1975, according to the Precious Moments website. Precious Moments porcelain figurines officially became available for ...

began drawing teardrop-eyed children for friends and family. Those drawings ultimately became the Precious Moments that launched to the public in 1975 on inspirational greeting cards and posters ...

With his family too poor to afford art supplies, Butcher scavenged rolls of paper from a factory dumpsite and used discarded automotive paint, Precious Moments said in a media release. Butcher ...

His father was an auto mechanic. Most of the family was mechanically inclined, but young Sam liked to draw, according to a Precious Moments company history. The family moved to Redding ...

Sam began drawing teardrop-eyed children he called "Precious Moments" for family and friends. The drawings graced greeting cards in 1975. The first figurines were created just three years later.

His faith soon led to Sam moving his family to Grand Rapids ... and the birthplace of Sam's tear-drop eyed Precious Moments children drawings. Among the first to discover Sam's precious children ...

Time to start digging through some of your family's specially kept items, there could be a beloved collectible in there worth some unexpected cash. Collectible figurines from Precious Moments ...

The company said in a Facebook post that he died early Monday surrounded by family at his home ... tell a Bible story, then draw it. LEFT: Sam Butcher at Precious Moments Chapel (Credit: PR ...