State Senator, WWII Navigator and Citizen Joe Burton Passes Away at 86

Joe Burton served the Briarcliff/Lavista/Henderson communities in the State Legislature for 30 years. I was "persuaded" by Joe to volunteer to ring bells for the Salvation Army for 6 years, where Joe had had each of five doors at Northlake Mall covered for 20 or so years, saving the "Army" 1,000 man-hours for the 6 weeks each year around Christmas season. Every time I saw him, he would give me an update on the status of the get-togethers of his bomber group from North Africa during WWII. He knew I was keenly interested as he had navigated one of General Jimmy Doolittle's 12th Air Force B-25s at the age of 18.

I was proud to have been able to meet and know Joe Burton--the finest of men and citizens. He exemplified the "strong bones" which built this sturdy NE DeKalb area in the 1950's and 1960's. He and they set the tone for future generations of volunteers, voters and neighbors. Joe remained conservative and frugal with everything but his time, commitment and compassion.

Please read the following funeral announcment:

SENATOR JOE BURTON was 5th District Senator of DeKalb County which included portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties, in the Georgia State Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 1982 after serving 10 years in the state House of Representatives. Senator Burton, a Republican, was vice chairman of the Special Judiciary Committee and serves on the powerful Appropriations, Ethics, Natural Resources, and Rules Committees. Senator Burton initiated a Senate Study on the education of preschool children with special needs which became part of the national survey which led to federal legislation requiring states to address the problem. He passed legislation to ensure educators were prepared to serve special needs students, including the requirement that Georgia teachers, principals and counselors take a course on how to identify and educate special needs children. Another of Senator Burton's long list of legislative achievements ensuring the safety of children included his work to assure their safety in difficult custody battles. Senator Burton was active in legislation to help the physically and mentally disabled. He successfully passed legislation in the House and the Senate to require barrier free access to public buildings, including designated handicapped parking and curb cuts. Senator Burton initiated legislation to reduce arrest warrant process time thereby freeing police officers to do their job of fighting crime on the streets rather than on paperwork. He planned to introduce legislation to broaden applications of high technology in specific crime fighting areas including uninsured motorists and insurance fraud. Senator Burton was honored by the Association of Handicapped Student Service Programs in Post-Secondary Education, the Easter Seal Society, and Birthright International for his legislative efforts and community service. He was a member of Goodwill Industries Advisory Board, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and he was a Board Member of Friends of Disabled Adults, which gives free wheel chairs to disabled citizens. Born August 30, 1923 in Atlanta, Senator Burton earned his BSIM degree from Georgia Tech March 2001.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution provided an interesting obituary:
http://www.ajc.com/news/joe-burton-86-of-152147.html