We received this today from Luke's daughters so thought we would post it even though the other was posted. ------------------------------------------------------------- Warm greetings to all. Below is a obituary for Burgess Joyner. If you have seen this already, or one similar, or none at all, our apologies for the oversight or the double/triple vision.
In the last paragraph, you will find information about his service - where, when, etc. We invite you to attend the service itself and also to stay for a social/food time afterward. Of course, feel free to attend only one or the other if that best suits you.
We daughters -- Gayle, Pam and Tammy --are continuing to look through, organize, sort, enjoy and discard (some of) Dad's "stuff." Always, we find evidence of his true friendships with so many of you. Thank you for your support of him over the years. We miss him more than words can express.
With love, Gayle, Pam & Tammy
Walter Burgess Joyner, Jr. was born in September of 1930 to Helen V. Erickson and Walter Burgess Joyner Sr. in Ft Collins, Colorado. Baby brother Arthur was born in November of 1931 and died from SIDS 3 months later. His parents divorced in 1932. Both sets of grandparents were very influential in his upbringing.
The family lived in Greeley, Colorado until 1939 when they moved to Estes Park, Colorado with his mom’s 2nd husband and younger half-sister. Burgess began 4th grade there, his step-dad worked in Rocky Mountain National Park and the family lived in a small, wood stove-heated cabin on Little Prospect Mountain in Estes. Years later he wrote: “I think that must be where I learned to love solitude.” The family, now including another sister, stayed in Estes for just 3 years, returning to Greeley when Burgess was 12 and in 7th grade. He attended Meeker Jr. High, then Greeley High School. He worked setting pins in a local bowling alley, and at the greenhouse owned by his grandparents Erickson, doing whatever needed to be done.
Though not without brain power, Burgess never “measured up to his potential” in school. But he made many friends during that time and those friendships lasted his entire lifetime. He made a point of keeping in touch with people he knew and loved, and to the very end he regularly phoned and emailed his oldest friends. He loved fly fishing, and relished the trips with good friends to the Encampment in Wyoming and other favorite spots over the years.
After graduating from Greeley High in 1948, Burgess attended CU in Boulder, Colorado. He joined the Navy in 1949 and served on an aircraft carrier through June of 1950. He returned to Estes Park afterwards and worked there with the Trail Ridge Road Conservation Corp. In the fall of 1952 he began studies at Colorado State College of Education (now UNC).
On September 6, 1953, he and Kathleen Joan Waugh were married in Greeley. They moved to Glenns Ferry, Idaho, where Kathy taught school, and Burgess attended Boise Jr. College. Daughter Gayle was born in July 1956 after they’d moved back to Greeley. In December of 1957, Burgess received his B.A. in Business Education from CSCE. Better yet, his identical twin daughters, Pamela and Tamara, arrived in April of 1958.
Burgess, Kathy and the 3 girls moved to Arvada, Colorado in 1961 and bought their first home on 6155 Brentwood St. They joined Arvada Presbyterian Church soon after, and were active and involved members for many years.
Burgess was a salesman. He sold life insurance, then Volkswagens before he opened Joyner Real Estate in Arvada around 1970. Both his grandfather, Walter William Joyner, and his father were realtors and had owned earlier incarnations of Joyner Real Estate in Greeley for many years.
He and Kathy divorced in 1981. Burgess’s house -- formerly the Arvada train station -- caught fire and burned beyond saving in January of 1989. Soon after, he moved back to Estes Park, opened Estes Park Real Estate and ran that business for most of the 9 years he lived there..
Respiratory health issues forced him to move away from Estes, though not without the fanfare of a 25,000th Day birthday party which he threw for his friends in March 5 of 2000. He moved to Spokane, Washington and spent 14 wonderful years of retirement, living near Whitworth University where all three of his daughters attended college. Daughters Pam and Tammy and their families lived within walking distance of his home, and enjoyed having him nearby.
Burgess fell and fractured his hip while at home on August 25th. Gayle, Pam and Tammy spent time with him during a brief hospital stay and also during his last days at Hospice of Spokane. He was surrounded by family and very much at peace when his soul left his body to return Home to his Lord Jesus just after midnight on September 7th.
He is survived by his daughters and their husbands: Gayle Joyner & Mark Black, Lakewood, CO, Tammy & Dave Vaughn, Spokane, WA, Pam & Dave Barnes, Spokane, WA; nine grandchildren: Devin Vaughn (Larissa), Amy Hook (Jonathan), Leah Hartanov (Travis), Ethan Vaughn, Tyler Barnes (Jacquelyn), Todd Barnes, Tracy Barnes, Ian Black and Connor Black; and six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2014 at Arvada Presbyterian Church, 5592 Independence St., Arvada, CO 80002. Service at 11:00 a.m. will be followed by a lunch reception and time for reminiscing at the church. Burgess specified that those attending his service dress in casual attire, wear large name tags, bring potluck food to share, have fun and be nice to each other and to follow these instructions explicitly. Name tags will be available at the church and family suggests that potluck dishes (which are not required!) be salads, side dishes or desserts to accompany the hot sandwiches which will be served.
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If I lived in Colorado, I would be there in a heartbeat. Burgess was such a friend to all of us and he got me through some really tough times with this disease. He was so happy when I got my transplant. He truly was a very dear and caring person.
Thank you so very much for posting this. I think of him frequently and miss my dear friend.
Thanks for sharing this about dear Luke/Burgess. It's great to know more about him and his family. Wish I could have known him and his family in person!