MICHELLE TUPPER BUTLER

Michelle grew up in Louisville with her brother, together raised by their father after their mother passed away from cancer in 1993. A Ballard High School graduate, she next earned her Bachelor's degree at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 1996, before moving to New York City and basking in the adventure of city life. After six years serving as editor in nonfiction, Michelle completed law school at Georgetown University Law Center in 2005 and began her career litigating in private practice. After nearly ten years in private practice and a federal clerkship with the United States District Court in Washington, D.C., Michelle moved with her family back home to Louisville in 2013 and continued working in private practice.

In early 2017, Michelle's advocacy work became personal when she assumed responsibility for her father's care. He suffered a fall that caused a spinal cord injury and left him a quadriplegic — without any plan in place. With help from family and the newly discovered power of planning, Michelle's father was able to thrive at home, maintaining a quality of life despite his disability and medical needs. Though he passed in 2020, Michelle ensured her father had a plan that made his wishes known so that when he died, she and her brother could be true to his love as a family, with confidence they were following their beloved father's wishes. 

Nearly 15 years of experience litigating on behalf of global and national companies facing significant and complicated legal claims Michelle now works to offer her clients the benefits of her extensive legal expertise and personal knowledge of the drastic difference the power of planning can bring to life's most difficult but unavoidable moments. This personal connection to estate planning, crisis care, and a deep understanding for the need to "just be family," through complicated end of life moments led Michelle to establish Tupper Butler Law PLLC.

At home, Michelle revels in her family – with her husband, Brandon, two children, and dog, Rosie. With the spare time that she nourishes with insistence, Michelle enjoys her book club (believing fervently that Frankenstein is the most important book ever written), lifting heavy things as exercise, and her newly adopted hobby and passion of fishkeeping.

DR. E. FRANK TUPPER

Dr. E. Frank Tupper was a renowned theologian, author, and teacher. He began his distinguished teaching career at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, teaching there for 23 years. In 1999, he became a founding faculty member at Wake Forest University's School of Divinity.

Dr. Tupper was ordained at Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville in 1967 and served at various churches as pastor throughout his life. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Tupper focused on challenging the traditional understanding of providence in line with his personal understanding of God and his faith. “Life is arbitrary,” he posits, “God is not.”

Dr. Tupper was Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Divinity at Wake Forest University, the author of The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg and A Scandalous Providence: The Jesus Story of the Compassion of God, an old-school country music lover, and a loving grandfather. Dr. Tupper passed away in February 2020 while in the loving embrace of his family.