BURTON Jr., Kertley
Thomas 'Tom'
Tom Burton, of Citrus Heights, passed away peacefully on May, 7, 2011 following a brief illness. He was born in Lexington, KY on July 10, 1931 to K.T. Burton Sr and Adeline (Bourne) Burton. He attended Suffield High School and the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio; and graduated from California State University at Sacramento with a General Business and Accounting degree. Tom was General Manager for 30 years at Trans Arrow Trucking Company, and then owned his own company, Tabor Trucking for 10 years. While working in the industry, he was an active member of the California Trucking Association, holding many offices throughout the years. He worked at H&R Block as a Master Tax Preparer from 1997 to this year. When not working, he loved tending his gardens, which always overflowed with vegetables, and searching for treasures at yard sales.

He was predeceased by his first wife Jeanne, with whom he had four children: Michael (Jackie); Steven (Teresa); Kathy (Gilbert) Blue; and Robyn (Randy) Cima. He married Valerie in 1972, and added her three children to the family: Kyle (Leslie) Blankenship; Devon Blankenship; and Erika Hepworth. Tom is survived by his loving wife Valerie; 7 children; 11 grandchildren; sister Louise Pigott; brother William (Jackie) Burton; sister Marlene (Charles) Isom; sister-in-law Sandra (Sid) Stott, and many nieces and nephews. He will also be missed by 13 neighborhood cats who visited the home for breakfast and dinner on a daily basis. He will be remembered as a loving husband and father by his family, and will be dearly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Viewing will be from 10am to 12pm on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at East Lawn Mortuary, 5757 Greenback Lane, Sacramento CA, 95841. Services will be held at 12:30pm at Calvary Cemetery, 7101 Verner Ave, Sacramento CA, 95841. Reception to follow at the Church of Christ, 7111 Mariposa Ave, Citrus Heights.