Robert Burford

Robert Raymond Burford of Sand Lake Township, Webster died on Sunday, December 22, 2013 at the age of 92. He was born in the same township on April 1, 1921 to Raymond E. and Lena (Johnson) Burford. He graduated from Webster High School and then went to Indiana to work in a steel mill. After World War II broke out, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet on July 29, 1942. He served in the Pacific Theater leading a team of cryptographers. One of his interesting Army situations was when he had to be jailed briefly for a security clearance after the Nazi forces took over the former hometown of his grandparents in Norway. He was released from active duty on September 21, 1946 with the rank of captain. Bob married Mary Doris O’Brien in Pine City, MN on August 3, 1946. Bob graduated from the University of Minnesota. He worked his entire career at 3M Corporation as a chemist, working with teams that invented widely known products as 3M Scotchgard and Light Water (a firefighting material). Bob was a member of the Webster Lions Club. He served as a Boy Scout Leader. He enjoyed fishing and canoe trips to Canada, was an avid golfer, bowler, and great cribbage player. He enjoyed making maple syrup and sauerkraut with his brothers, and dabbled in the chemistry of brewing beer and fermenting wine. His occasionally irreverent humor, wit and laughter will be missed. Bob was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Mary; siblings James, Thomas, John, Elise East, and Gretchen Caraway. Bob is survived by brothers George and Terrence; children John (Barbara), Robert (Anne), Thomas (Vicki), Katherine (Richard Schwab), Susan (Paul) Rockwell, Patricia (Michael Martindale), and Teresa (Chuck); grandchildren Adrienne Butler, Jason, Andrew, Dustin, and Justin Burford; and great-grandchildren Sienna, Logan, and Jayce Burford. Visitation will be from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Home in Webster on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Visitation will be followed by a memorial service, with full military honors, at 1:00 PM. Private interment will be held at Oak Grove Cemetery in Webster. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial remembrances be made to Larsen Family Public Library, 7401 Main St. Webster, WI 54893. Arrangements entrusted to Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Home, Webster, WI. Online condolences can be made to www.swedberg-taylor.com.