Harold Wayne Burton Obituary
Harold Wayne Burton was born on January 10, 1933 in Marietta, OK to Henry Louis Burton and Leona (Thaxton) Burton. He passed from this life at the age of 91 on September 24, 2024 in Ardmore with his loving wife holding his hand.
On May 31, 1958 he married the love of his life, Joyce Evelyn Criswell, in the First Presbyterian Church in McAlester, OK. In May of 2024 they celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary.
He attended high school in Ardmore. During his high school years he worked as a motion picture projectionist at the Tivoli Theater in Ardmore and ate lots of burgers, fries and pies at Hamburger Inn. On June 12, 1953 he was drafted into the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean Conflict. He attended Engineering School for 8 weeks in Fort Belvoir, VA and was trained in map compiling. He was then shipped to Tokyo where he served as a U.S. Army map compiler until he was separated from the Army as a Corporal (E-4) on May 14, 1955 at Fort Carson, CO. He received the National Defense Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Korean Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal. He received an Honorable Discharge on the 13th day of June 1961 after completing his time in the inactive reserves.
In 1955 he attended Oklahoma University for one year. He returned home to Ardmore and worked as a Deputy County Tax Assessor for Carter County until he decided to attend Southeastern State College in September 1957 where he met Joyce Evelyn Criswell, also a student, and married in 1958. His sons were born in 1959 and 1960.
He did his student teaching at McAlester Junior High School and earned a Bachelor of Science Education Degree in 1960 from Southeastern and a Master of Education Degree from North Texas State University in 1975.
After graduation in 1960 he was hired as a civilian employee at Tinker Air Force Base, OK until August 1963 when the family moved to Dallas, TX where he was employed as an Administrative Assistant for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Joyce began her 30-year career with the Appeals Division of the Internal Revenue Service.
In 1968 he made a career change as an Industrial Arts and Geography teacher at Marsh Junior High School in Dallas where he taught for eleven years and the family moved to Carrollton from Duncanville, TX. In 1979 he was hired for the summer as a drafter for Otis Engineering Corp. in Dallas, which became a permanent job. He worked there as a Drafting Technician until his retirement in 1993 from then the Halliburton Company.
In 1998 he and Joyce decided to relocate back home to Oklahoma and have lived in Ardmore since. Harold was an active member and Elder in the First Presbyterian Church. Since 1993 he has loved being Santa for the churches he belonged to as well as Oak Hall Episcopal School and several child daycare centers. He never dressed in original Santa clothes but was still recognized as Santa with his beautiful white beard. He especially liked relating to children, asking them if they had been good. Often he was stopped by strangers wanting a picture of him with their children.
He was a life member of the National Rifle Association and a licensed amateur radio operator and member of the local ham radio club for many years. Having a seven-acre yard, he enjoyed mowing with his Kubota tractor and new zero-turn lawn mower until just a few weeks ago.
He is preceded in death by his parents and two sons, Harold (Burt) Wayne Burton, Jr. and Curtis Louis Burton.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce, of the home; two daughters-in-law, Donna Greenwell Burton and Teresa Sciba Burton; grandchildren, Kimberly Lynne Burton; Lindsay Christine Snyder and husband Robby; Vivian Leigh Hamilton and husband Nick; Sean Louis Burton; Samantha (Sammie) Jo Van Grinsven and husband AJ; great-grandchildren Riley Lynne Haney, Zoey Claire Snyder, Silas Henry Snyder, Hunter Wayne Hamilton, Sloane Evelyn Hamilton; sister Peggy Burton Heller; sisters-in law, Patricia Criswell Kim, Beverly Criswell Smith and husband Art; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
A celebration of life is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Ardmore First Presbyterian Church with the Reverend Mary Ellen Waychoff officiating. The family will host a visitation on Monday, September 30 from 6 to 7 p.m. at Harvey Douglas Funeral Home.
The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 486, Ardmore, OK 73402 or to a charity of your choice.
