Omer "Burt" Menefee Burton

Omer Menefee (Burt) Burton, 100, passed away on July 18, 2022, at Ellis Hospital, after a short illness.

Burt was born in 1922 in Kentucky, spent most of his life in Scotia, and the last 10 years at Kingsway Village in Schenectady, where he recently celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family. Burt was married for 70 years to the love of his life, the former Pearl Lillian Hursh, who predeceased him in 2016, at the age of 96.

Burt was born May 5, 1922 near Somerset, Kentucky, son of the late Della Burton. During the depression, Burt traveled the country with other teenaged boys, selling magazines door to door. He later lived in Ohio, Maryland, and Florida, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1940. He served seven years, much of it as a pharmacist's mate aboard the U.S.S. Louisville in the Pacific during World War II. It was during his time in the service that Burt met Pearl at a USO dance in Philadelphia; they shared letters from afar in which Burt would dodge Navy censors by embedding a personal code that notified Pearl of his whereabouts and good health.

They were married in 1946. After the war, Burt went back and determinedly earned his high school diploma and then graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He was hired as an accountant by General Electric in Schenectady, where he worked for 29 years until his retirement in 1983.

Burt and Pearl raised a daughter, Janet (Layden) and enjoyed family trips to the beach and mountains in their trusty trailer.

Burt was a member of the Masons, and enjoyed playing golf left-handed at the Edison Club in Rexford. He was handy with just about every tool in the box. After Burt's retirement, he and Pearl traveled extensively to many of the 50 states and Europe, and doted lovingly on their grandchildren.

Burt is survived by Janet and her husband, Tim, of Simsbury, Connecticut; and their two children, Kristen (Julian), of Los Angeles; and Kevin (Katie), of San Jose, California. To them, he was "Papa." Both were with him on his 100th birthday.

Calling hours are Tuesday, July 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Bekkering-Ellis Funeral Home, 1 Mohawk Ave., Scotia, followed by a brief service and private burial at Saratoga National Cemetery.

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