Thomas Philip Burton

Thomas Philip Burton passed away at the home he shared with his wife in Danbury, CT, on Sunday the 6th of November, 2022. His wife and children were there to comfort him in his last moments.

Tom was born on June 26th, 1957, in Woodland, CA, the third child of Tom and Carol Burton. The family eventually settled in Lompoc, CA. Tom joined the Navy at the age of 19, just after the end of the Vietnam war. He studied at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA, learning enough Spanish to get him stationed in Puerto Rico for two years. He met Norma at a New Year’s Eve party as they danced to the music of José Feliciano y El Gran Combo. They were married in 1978 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, briefly honeymooning in San Francisco, then starting their new lives in Davis, CA.

Newly married, Tom earned his Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of California, at Davis, and further complicated things by having two children with his wife Norma. Tom and Norma raised their two kids in Davis, putting down deep roots for over 35 years.

Tom was passionate about bicycles from a young age – he rode around Lompoc, Bayamón, and Davis, and loved every second of it. Living in a community where bicycles outnumbered people, Tom was in his element, even working at a local bike shop, Wheelworks. Unfortunately, in 2013, Tom was injured in a bicycle accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Despite his situation, he never lost his love for bicycles or his love for life, finishing his Marriage and Family Therapy degree in 2014. In 2016, he and Norma moved to Danbury, just a mile down the road from their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. They were quickly followed by their daughter.

Tom had a huge heart and was beloved by every community and person he touched. He was a dedicated friend, and father, unburdened by rules, expectations … or punctuality. A beautiful free spirit, he frequently changed jobs until he found his calling in marriage and family counseling in his fifties. He was dedicated to group grief therapy for his clients at the Triangle Community Center, and individual virtual therapy administered from his bed during the pandemic.

Tom is survived by his wife of 43 years, Norma López-Burton, and their children: Leslie Burton-Lopez and her wife, Kirsten Burton; Tab Burton and his wife, Monica Silva; and his two grandchildren: Amelia Riley Burton, and Thomas Julian Burton. He is also survived by his siblings, Kathy Robertson, Diane Heath, and James Burton.

All are welcome to attend Tom’s memorial service at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Danbury at 2pm this Sunday the 13th of November.

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