Burton St John Simonds

Burton was born in Los Alamos, New Mexico on August 26, 1974. He and his family moved to Anoka, Minnesota when he was 3. He was a rambunctious and outgoing child, with a smile that would melt any mother's frustration. He assisted his mother in meeting the neighbors as he would run through the backyards almost completely naked with just his shoes and socks on. The family moved back to New Mexico in 1979, this time to Albuquerque where he spent most of his time growing up. Burton was always pushing limits as shown one evening around the dinner table. His younger brother, Matt, was learning about the family's middle names, after a few rounds of clarification with some of the family members, Matt exclaimed, "I know Burt's middle name! Burton St. John Go To Your Room!" much to the laughter of everyone at the table.

Burton remained physically active growing up - participating in club soccer, roller-blading, snowboarding, and even participating on the high-school diving team, following in the footsteps of his Grandpa Bud. His exploits on rollerblades became legendary in the neighborhood, as he and his friends Bjorn and Dave built larger and larger wooden ramps to launch themselves from the second story balcony and down the street.

Burton had a heart of gold, an openness to learn, and strong commitment to family as shown by his strong relationships, continued focus on education and learning, and extensive time spent supporting his family.

Burton went to college at Northern Arizona University and later completed his associate's degree in computer information systems. Recently he had talked about completing his college degree and was pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. He was also a Certified ScrumMaster through work.

Burton started working for America Online (AOL) around 1996 where he first met Julie. They both individually moved to Virginia through AOL, and their friendship grew into a life-long, loving partnership. They had a fairy tale wedding at The Excalibur in Las Vegas on January 24, 2004 and honeymooned in DisneyWorld. Burton worked 5 years at Blackbird Technologies before they decided to move to Denver to be closer to the kids and grandkids. He started at Viasat in December 2013 as a Linux engineer and they moved into their current house in Centennial in January 2014. Showing strong skills in mentoring and automation, Burton continued to build his skills and relationships and was promoted to an Automation Lead / Supervisor in February 2024. He was highly respected for his knowledge and team work with a team that is feeling the gap of his presence.

Burton and Julie often joked that they jumped from one expensive hobby to another. First they went all in on "Jeeping". He bought a blue Wrangler before they got married and that next summer they joined a Jeep club. Burton was the president of the club for 2 years. Many weekends were spent modifying the Jeep or repairing it after something broke on one of the trails. He got so stuck on one trail that Burton and Julie thought they were going to have to bring in a helicopter to extract the Jeep! After many hours, and much help by his friends, they were able to dislodge it from the boulders he was stuck on. Burton and Julie built many friends (and rebuilt many jeeps!) during those times.

Burton was also a certified divemaster and emphasized helping others learn how to dive safely. He always said that scuba diving was the place he was most relaxed. His brain was always going a million miles a minute until he dropped underwater and then it would calm down. He and Julie loved being a part of the scuba community and shared many trips with their friends.

Burton was dedicated to his family. He loved to call his mom on the way home from work just to catch up, something his mom gloated about with the other siblings. He often went down to Albuquerque to help his parents as they aged, especially after his mom passed away in 2020 and his dad needed more assistance. He and Julie made a point of attending the graduation party for his niece, Gwen, since she had no other family in Minnesota to attend. Just a month ago, he traveled to Colorado Springs to see his other niece, Sam, play in a soccer tournament. He and Julie shared a spectacular family weekend in June in Kansas City with Burt's brother's and sister's families.

He especially excelled at the grandfather role, declaring himself "GrandDude", He enjoyed spending time with his grandkids and they had lots of time together at the house and on their many camping trips. Burton would play games, make Play-Doh creations, build Lego or draw with the grandkids, always exclaiming how great their creations were. He would attend and support the grandkids' in their activities with lots of encouragement. Every year, Burton and Julie took the kids camping, evolving the trips as the kids got older. They started out with overnights nearby and eventually went further away with up to 5 grandkids! Their last trip was especially memorable with all 5 grandkids at a Jellystone RV Resort. Burton loved playing mini golf and playing games at the arcade with the kids. He got so much joy out of his grandkids and it kept him young at heart.

Burton loved going camping in their beautiful camper with Julie. They spent many weekends exploring all around Colorado. Some of their favorite trips include a trip to Mueller State Park where Burton's best friend, Bjorn, and his wife, Cindy, joined them for the weekend. They had amazing weather for hiking. He loved camping with Tracy & Steven and Marcie & Kirk, enjoying the hiking, biking, sightseeing, and campfire s'mores. Burton's favorite place to go was Grand Lake. The first year they went there the moose were all over the campground. His hope was to see a bull moose with a full rack but in all of the hiking and driving through Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park, he never saw one. He spent his last weekend camping with family and celebrating his 50th birthday at his favorite camping location. They didn't see any large animals but he was super excited that a weasel was running around their campsite hunting a mouse. Julie gave him an exquisite damascus knife with a baby mammoth tooth handle, and Burton was especially touched by that gift.

Burton is survived by his wife, Julie; Julie's kids Kyle (Lindsay) and Kristin (Justin); their grandkids Celeste, Kayleigh, Sophia, Camden, and Emmett; brother Matthew Simonds (Susan); sister Jennifer Simonds; nieces Gwen, Sam, Emily; nephew Nik; and many more loving family members and friends. He was preceded in death by Jennifer Coyne (July 24, 2007); mother, Jayne Simonds (August 24, 2020); father, Stephen Simonds (July 2, 2023).

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Brighter Days Dog Rescue, a local rescue where Burton and Julie found their dog, Cali, in Burton's memory.

A private memorial gathering is planned for family and close friends in Pagosa Springs.