Burton passed away at his Farmington Square Apartment Thanksgiving Morning,
November 27, 2014 at age 87.
Burton was born in Bend, Oregon on January 20, 1927 to Laura and Elva Erwin Varco. He lived his entire life in Oregon. He grew up on a large ranch at the base of the Three Sisters in Plainview between Sisters and Bend.
Burton married his first wife Betty Joyce Shepherd on December 16, 1949. Together they had five children, Darryl Burton, Kim Emerson, Heidi Deanne, Keary Alvin and Jane Suzette. In the early 50’s they lived in
several places in the Plainview area where they farmed and ranched. In 1954 they moved to Bend. Between 1955 and 1957 They moved to Sutherlin, Elkton, Scottsburg, Estacada and Madras following a logging
company as a truck mechanic. In the fall of 1957 they moved East of Bend on Dodds Road then in the spring of 1958 they moved to Bend. There Burton worked for the Deschutes County Road Works (he often
said this was his favorite job). In the fall of 1962 the family moved to a farm in Dallas, OR where Burton worked for a short time for the Rickreall Co-Op, then went to work for Willamette Industries Plywood Mill shortly thereafter. That was one harrowing move. The family had already moved to Dallas, but Burton was finishing up work in Bend. On the day he was coming to Dallas Oct 12, 1962, the Columbus Day storm hit. He drove all the way from Bend to Dallas with trees falling behind him the whole way, until he got to the farm, where a large oak
tree fell right in front of him. He was so concerned for his family that he would not stay put in Bend. In 1968 the family moved again, from the farm to a home in Salem. Burton retired from the mill in April of 1992. Betty passed away January 26, 1995. Burton married Virginia Jane Smith on March 12, 1996 in Virginia City, Nevada. He and Virginia continued to live in the Salem home until his health and memory started failing in February of 2014, after having knee replacement surgery in January. They moved into an apartment at
Farmington Square Senior Living Community, in South Salem. Burton’s health began to improve. He and Virginia were really starting to enjoy their new surroundings at Farmington Square. In July they both attended our Annual Varco(e) Family Reunion, they were in good spirits and had a great time. On the way home
Virginia started showing signs of illness, was taken to the hospital and passed away within three days. Shortly after her funeral, Farmington Square staff encouraged Burton to get a dog for company. He picked out a
special little black poodle named Cole (he always loved his dogs). Just a few weeks later he started falling on a regular basis, and showed new signs of memory loss and difficulty speaking. Tests showed blood on the brain, so surgery was done. He came through that and started improving at a rehabilitation center, but then fell victim to an infection. He was put in hospice care at Farmington Square on Sat, November 22 and passed away early Thanksgiving Morning on November 27th. Burton was a very special man. He was
loving, gentle, kind, smiling, often teasing, a tad stubborn, and not afraid to show his emotions. He made his choice to serve God, Saturday, Sept 20, 1952 at age 25 at Saginaw Convention. He was baptized
Sunday Sept 26, 1954 also at Saginaw Convention. He always had a beautiful lush garden. He enjoyed working with wood from building bird houses to carving little old time statues. A simple walk for some
would turn into a scavenger hunt for him. He loved combing the beach for agates, panning for little bits of gold, and hiking to see the beautiful wildflowers. He enjoyed exploring the United States and Canada whenever he got the chance, and even experienced a road trip to Alaska. In his latter years, he created these awesome
random scrapbooks with everything from napkins from a restaurant he ate at; to the little label from a banana; to articles about family members, or other things of interest. He loved to do jigsaw puzzles, and he and
Virginia often played games. He loved coming to our annual family reunions, which kept the family close. He enjoyed music; listening to our campfire sing-a-longs, playing the harmonica, jute harp and banjo. The music programs at Farmington Square made life enjoyable there. He always loved his dogs and other pets; as a kid he even had pet barn owls. Burton is survived by his sister Helen Varco Brown, all five of his children and their spouses, many grandchildren and their spouses and many great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, his first wife Betty, his second wife Virginia and his brothers Charles, Robert,
and Erwin. In his last days there were many precious moments. Technology allowed him to Skype with his daughter Jane in California. He blew her a kiss and told her he loved her. On his last day his great-grandson Kennedy played his little toy harmonica and when Burton couldn’t say or do anything else you could see the slightest smile. He was loved by everyone around him. He was known for helping anyone and everyone who
needed something done. He had good health for 86 years, which was somewhat surprising since he had two bouts of rheumatic fever as a child. Funeral service: Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Rd. NE Keizer, OR 97307 Saturday, December 6th, 2014 at 1pm Graveside service: Restlawn Memorial Gardens 201 Oak Grove Road NW Salem, Oregon 97304 Monday, December 8th, 2014 at 1pm He will be laid to rest next to his first wife Betty which is a stones throw away from his second wife Virginia. May he rest in peace with his family in heaven, until we meet again. Burton - Forever in our hearts….