One of the Greats
We love our residents and the unique perspective on life that they each bring. We were able to sit down with Mr. Willis Burton recently and catch a glimpse of just how different his life was compared to those of this upcoming generation. They are One of the Greats that we have in our community.
Willis was born March 30th 1919 in an extremely small 12’ by 25’ log cabin just north of Preston, ID. He was the 11th of 13 Children, most of which were all living at home at the time of his birth. There was no bathroom in the house and no running water. They had a well next to the house and a wood bearing stove for cooking and for keeping them warm in the winter months. The boys all slept in the attic which could only be accessed from the outside of the house. Now this might sound extreme to some, and it is if you compare it to our heated and air conditioned homes with our showers and TV’s and our own bedrooms, and goodness gracious, don’t forget our WiFi… but Willis said he never felt deprived.
He was only 10 years old when the Great Depression hit in 1929. Money had been scarce growing up, yet his family had always been very self-sufficient, so the economic downfall didn’t affect his family as much as it did others. Willis learned the value of hard work at an early age. His father was often away herding sheep, so his siblings and mother took care of the homestead. They had a big garden, cows, pigs, chickens, and of course horses. Some of the responsibilities he had as a child were herding cattle, milking cattle, hunting, and fishing for his family. Willis said that he used to hunt all the time and jokes that he learned to ride a horse before he even learned to walk.
Growing up, Willis loved baseball. In his era, it truly was “America’s pastime”. When asked what one of his favorite memories was growing up, he said playing baseball on Saturday’s with his friends. He lived for that every week. Willis was the pitcher on his high school and church team, and was also a guard on his high school basketball team.
The Boy Scouts of America program was also a big part of his childhood. When asked who the most influential person in his childhood was, he answered, “J.V. Adams” who was his scout master and later the bishop of his church. Some of the things they did together included lots of camping trips and road shows. At one road show in particular, Mr. Adams pitched bags of cornflakes to Willis who in return smashed them into the audience with a baseball bat.
Willis entered the Air Force in the fall of 1942 where he served as a Staff Sargent in the offices in Louisiana during WWII, processing soldiers for their return home from the war. During this time he met the love of his life, the lovely Virginia Grace Bryan who he married on the 15th of September, 1944. It wasn’t too long after their marriage that Willis was sent to Europe to help in the aftermath of the war in 1945. In the military, Willis lived in difficult conditions and learned to be disciplined. If a soldier was ever out of line they were to receive extra “KP” (Kitchen Patrol) and nobody wanted extra KP duty. They all learned that it was best to just do what they were told. After having served for four years, Willis was discharged from the military in March of 1946.
After the war, Willis and Virginia went on to live a wonderful life together in Idaho with their 9 children and were able to celebrate their 71st wedding anniversary before Virginia passed away in May earlier this year. When asked what advice he would give to the upcoming generation he said:
1) Strive to be more self-sufficient.
2) Get an education.
3) Learn to be loyal and to have integrity with your family and friends.
May we all take this wise man’s advice and strive to work hard to be able to take care of ourselves, educate our minds, and be honest and loyal in both our words and our actions in all our dealings with those around us, especially those closest to us. When asked if he had anything else that he would like to say, he smiled and said, “It’s been a good ride”.
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