Robert Byron Burnham

Bob passed away peacefully among family in the early morning hours of Friday, July 11, 2008. He was born in Ogden, Utah to George and Edna Bateman Burnham. He was oldest of three children. Bob was the father of two sons and seven step- children. He was home schooled for the first three years in Park Valley, Utah. He was a member of the first graduating class from the newly built Ogden High School (1938).As a member of the Greatest Generation he grew up in the Depression and worked with his father in hauling timber from the mountains east of Ogden. He obtained his Associates Degree from Weber Junior College and studied at Utah State University. He valued education and encouraged his children to get as much education as they could. His own studies were interrupted by WWII. He was proud to serve as a sergeant in the US Marine Corps. "Once a Marine Always a Marine."

Bob worked for the US Postal Service beginning as a substitute mail carrier and retiring in 1976 as Assistant Postmaster of the Ogden Post Office in charge of finance and personnel.

In 1941 he married Muriel Louise Messerly in Ogden, Utah. She passed away in 1967. He married Emmy Lou Kent-Barnes in 1969.

He was a member of the LDS Church and served in the Bonneville Park Ward bishopric and as a scout leader.

He could catch fish when no one else could. Bob knew the Blacksmith Fork River extremely well. He loved the Henry''s Fork River and lived on its banks in Island Park, Idaho after retirement. He studied entomology in college. This served him well as a superb fly fisherman. Not only did he know and understand the ways of the trout, but he understood the very food they ate. His only known attempt at journal keeping involved recording the date and time of day of his numerous fishing trips, the cloud cover, water conditions, air temperature, and kinds of insect hatches. He personally tied his own flies and supplied his children and many friends (including fellow fishermen he may have just met on the river) with his feathered and threaded works of art.

Dad hunted every big and upland game animal in the intermountain region. He was an excellent marksman with rifles, shotguns, and archery. Dad horse-packed through the back country of Yellowstone Park many times with his friends. Most of all he loved being in the out-of-doors. He loved to share his understanding of God''s creation with those around him.

Dad loved his family. He must have loved his role as father because after raising two sons, he helped Emmy Lou raise her 7 childrena€"many of them through the teenage years. Perhaps Bob''s greatest characteristic was his patience. He never complained. He was honest a€" and counseled his children to "do the right thing".

He is survived by his wife Emmy Lou, his sister Lavon "Dottie" (Bill) Kelly, two sons Byron (Shirley), Logan; Dean (Debra) Burnham, Thayne, WY; one stepson Bill Barnes, Phoenix, AZ; and five stepdaughters, Diana "Fritzie" (John) Adrian, Layton; Jeannie (Gene) Hathenbruck, Layton; Sandy (Kit) Nield, Layton; Debbie (Rand) Stonehocker, North Ogden; Connie (Joe) Piccolo, Ogden; 22 grandchildren and 22 great-grand children.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Walter, his stepson Bruce Barnes and two infant great-grandchildren.

The family thanks the professionals at Manor Care and Pinnacle Hospice for their excellent care and concern.

Funeral Services will be Tuesday, July 15, at 11 a.m. at Lindquist''s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.

Friends may call at the mortuary on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Interment, Lindquist''s Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, 1718 Combe Road where Military Honors will be accorded.

Send condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com /stop