Robert E. Burton's Obituary
Our dear husband, father, and friend died unexpectedly the evening of 25 November 2005 at the home he shared with his wife in Orting.Born 30 December 1942 in Rapid City, SD. Robert, known as Bob to his friends, attended school in SD until moving to North Hollywood, CA with his family during his teens. After living and attending high school in CA, Bob enlisted in the Army at the of 19 during the summer of 1962. During his service to his country, Bob served as a tank driver with the 3rd BN 70th Armored Division spending most of his military service in Germany.After leaving the Army in 1965 Bob made his way to Washington where in 1967 he met and wed his wife Rosie. Bob and Rosie enjoyed 38 wonderful years of marriage during the majority of which they made Lakewood their home. Lakewood was also the home of Bob's business and for over 30 years he owned and operated an area pawnshop, PawnBrokers NorthWest. Business was a true passion for Bob and he enjoyed all facets of pawnbroking, serving as the President of the Washington State Pawnbrokers Association for eight fyears, as well as writing and marketing a computer reporting system, the first of it's kind for the pawnshop industry. Even after retiring in 2001 Bob remained active with the state assocation until mid-2005. While other business avenues, such as briefly owning a jewelry store, caught his interest, being a pawnshop owner was clearly the career Bob was made for.Bob also strongly believed in giving back to hte community he lived in adn he volunteered for such things as the Lakewood Fire Department Strategic Planning Committee, Clover Park School District PTSA, as well as various youth groups his children were involved in.A man of many talents, Bob enjoyed and took pride in hobbies such as the shooting sports, computers, gunsmithing, and probably one of his greatest sources of accompishment was the restoration of his 1959 Triumph TR-3. His favorite car of all time, many will remember the British racing green TR-3 that could be seen prominently displayed in front of his shop during the warmer months. Even during his later years after being partially debilitated by a stroke, Bob stayed as active as ever taking his interest in metal working to a new level by spending countless hours working on his newly acquired mill.While in his hobbies and business life Bob had a great many accomplishments, he no doubt considered his greatest accomplishment the family he enjoyed so much and the friendships they cultivated over the years. Most will remember Bob's sense of humor, even handedness, analytical mind, and just how easy he was to get along with.Bob was preceded in death by his father Vernon Burton and his mother Enid Sugura. He is survived by his wife Rosie, his daughter Holly Richart (Clay), his son Jason (Jaime), grandson Wyatt Burton Richart, adn three brothers Jerry, Ron and Bill, as well as many nieces adn nephews, who will always fondly remember their "Uncle Bob".Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, 3 December 2005 in the Mountain View Valley Chapel.Donations may be made to the American Heart Association.
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