Kay Devon Burtenshaw

March 7, 1932 ~ January 25, 2011
Kay Devon Burtenshaw, 78, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at the Beehive Home in Provo, UT after a good, but long life of pain and suffering.
Devon was born on March 7, 1932 to Erastus and Bernice Mortensen Burtenshaw in Blue Water, NM. He was the ninth out of eleven children in his family.
When he was very young, his family moved to Blanding, UT. He lived in Blanding until he married.
At age 19, he met and fell in love with a Monticello girl by the name of Ann Lee Pehrson. They were married in the Manti Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on March 26, 1951. To this union was born three children; Kaylene, Laurie, and Kim.
As a young boy, Devon was plagued with illness that eventually led him to drop out of school in the eighth grade. He learned to work hard and found joy in a job well done. As a teenager, he was involved in an industrial accident that caused severe damage to his spine.
He worked as a miner and miller in the uranium industry in Monticello. He spent many hours hunched over in the mine because there wasn’t room enough to stand up straight. This would aggravate his already sore back, but he never complained.
He also worked as a mechanic for Western Mine Supply and San Juan County. In 1962, he started his own business: Devon’s Repair Service. He and his son Kim worked side by side until Devon retired in 1995.
He was known as a great mechanic and welder that could fix just about anything and eventually, a tow truck operator as well. His integrity and honesty helped build a great reputation.
Devon worked hard, but he also liked to play hard! He had a great love for the outdoors and sharing that passion with his favorite people; family and friends. He lived to hunt from season to season. This kept him going in spite of his ever-increasing pain. As long as he could still go hunting, he was fine! He enjoyed snowmobiling, camping, boating, and four-wheeling.
He had a sense of humor that kept all who knew him laughing, especially his family. His grandchildren all thought that they had the cutest grandpa! Spending time with his family meant the world to him.
Devon had a way to put people at ease and make them an instant friend. He was a meek and humble man who loved the Lord. His faith helped him endure each trial he went through.
He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served faithfully in all his callings. He had a generous heart and kind spirit that was the core of his being. His funeral was a celebration of a life well lived and a fight well won.
Devon is preceded in death by his loving parents, his sisters Zona, Veva, Vera, Afton, Jescile, and Dorothy Lee.
His is survived by his wife Anna Lee, his children Kaylene (David) Phillips of Orem, UT, Laurie O’Steen of Montrose, CO, Kim (Cyndi) Burtenshaw of Monticello, UT; 13 grandchildren, five step grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren, brother Farron of Grand Junction, CO; sisters Nina Wood of West Valley City, UT, Delna Knighton of Providence, UT and Frankie (Richard) Swonson of West Valley City, UT.
Funeral Services were held January 31, 2011 in the Monticello North LDS Chapel, with interment at the Monticello City Cemetery.
Card of thanks
Devon’s family would like to express our sincere and heart-felt gratitude for the many acts of kindness throughout this difficult time as well as other times as it was needed. We’d like to thank all of the doctors and nurses who took such good care of him, including Dr. Paul Reay, Dr. Curtis Black, Dr. Bloink, each nurse at the San Juan Hospital, and the doctors, nurses and CNA’s at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, UT and First Choice Hospice in Provo. We’d also like to thank Danny Palmer at San Juan Mortuary. Devon was given great care by everyone. We live in a great community where kind acts of service are abundant. How blessed we are!
Anna Lee Burtenshaw
Kaylene & David Phillips & family
Laurie O’Steen & family
Kim & Cyndi Burtenshaw & family