Obituary for Burton Robert

Burton Roberts

August 24, 1934 – June 1, 2024

Burton Arnold Roberts, lived a colorfully-varied 86 years and passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 1, 2024, in his adopted home of Ponca City, Oklahoma. A memorial service for Burton will be held at 10:00 AM on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at Grace Episcopal Church in Ponca City. In lieu of flowers, a contribution to his memorial can be made by sending a check with his name in the memo line to Grace Episcopal Church, 109 N 13th Street, Ponca City, OK 74601. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory, 505 W. Grand Ave, Ponca City, OK, 74601.

On August 24, 1937, Burton was born in Brooklyn, NY, to Morris and Mollie (Stein) Rabinowitz. Burton grew up in a mixed Jewish/Christian neighborhood, while the world was at war and at holocaust. Yet he was able to learn several arts. His mother was expert at beadwork, which he turned into a hobby later in life. He also learned tap dancing, Indian lore, decorating, painting, and music, particularly the piano. When the war was over, he asked if newscasts were over, since there was nothing left to report. Then, Burton was bar mitzvah in 1950 and so joined the adult Jewish community.

In 1955, Burton graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn and then studied music at Brooklyn College and also at Queens College, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating, Burton was a private piano teacher and a demonstrator for Lowery Organs. He performed on the piano, organ, and accordion at private events and played classical piano concerts, including a series on radio for the Brooklyn Museum, where he also worked on staff. In addition, he played at several night clubs and was the piano accompanist for an international Spanish dance troupe when they performed in New York City. As a result, he learned to speak Spanish fluently. He could also understand several other languages, including Yiddish.

However, he did not like the stress of concert performance, and it conflicted with his building a good private life. So instead, he looked for day work involving his interests of design and decorating. He became a top salesman for a couple of fabric companies and assisted most of the name designers in NYC. In his private life, Burton found three life partners, John, Bob, and David, who all tragically passed away due to illness. As part of providing terminal care for them and for his parents, he became a New York licensed home health care aide. This led him to work at several medical jobs, including at St. Joseph’s Medical Center, where he became the administrative assistant to the Director of Surgery. During this time of confronting death repeatedly, he attended church services with his Catholic partners and also explored Indian and oriental religions and philosophy, looking for a spiritual home.

He retired upstate to Yankee Lake in Sullivan County, in the foothills of the Catskills, and turned a lifelong interest in antiques into a business at antique shows, auctions, and flea markets in the area. In 2003, Burton met his fourth partner, Edward Lindsay, who shared a strong interest in religion and attended church with him over several months. Burton felt like he had found his religious home this time, and at Easter 2004, he converted and was baptized in the Episcopal Church.

After several years of traveling to the southwest with his partner and seeing in real life the Indian cultures that he had been attracted to as a boy, Burton decided in 2010 to move to Ponca City, Oklahoma, the home town of his partner. There he attended Grace Episcopal Church, and also enjoyed attending the many Pow-wows and Indian cultural events in the area. He continued his hobby of beading by making Indian-style necklaces, many with a Christian theme. Annually, Burton would winter at Edgewater Beach, Edward’s home, in Miramar Beach, Florida, where he made many friends. He enjoyed especially the Men’s Prayer Group at Christ the King Episcopal Church, until illness overcame him this year.

Burton was preceded in death by his parents and an older sister who died at birth. He is survived by his partner of over twenty years, Edward Lindsay, of Ponca City and Miramar Beach.

Source: Trout Funeral Home