BURTON, Joseph K. “Joe”
Date of death: 27 Sep 1984 – Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
Columbus Republic, September 28, 1984
Joseph K. Burton
Edinburgh
EDINBURGH — Joseph K. “Joe” Burton, 74, died at 9:15 p.m. Thursday at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. He had been ill since Friday.
Burton owned and operated Joe’s Fruit Market in Edinburgh for many years. He had lived in Edinburgh since 1926.
Funeral service will be conducted by the Rev. Larry Biddle and the Rev. Ernest Garner at 3 p.m. Monday at Edinburgh Wesleyan Church. Calling hours will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Eskew-Eaton Funeral Home in Edinburgh and burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery in Edinburgh.
Burton was born Sept. 29, 1909, in Adair County, Ky., the son of David and Martha Burton. He married Florence Burton Jan. 10, 1928, and she survives. He attended Edinburgh Wesleyan Church.
Additional survivors include five sons, Charles Burton, Edgar Burton, William D. “Bill” Burton, Larry Burton and Dwight Burton, all of Edinburgh; three daughters, Nadine Adams of Nineveh, Phyllis Johnson of Flat Rock, and Linda Dayton of Tulsa, Okla.; one sister, Anna Lee Caldwell of Columbus; 27 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Edinburgh Tri-County Enterprise, September 26, 1984
"So Long Joe, It's Been
Good to Know You"
Joe Burton was one of the first business men in the town of Edinburgh with whom we became acquainted eleven years ago. It was an immediate meeting of the minds. We all three were fascinated by antiques and history; we all three loved the generosity of nature as shown in her bounty of good crops; we all three found our fellow-sojourners in life an endless challenge to know and understand. Howard & I found that it was an enriching experience to know this unique personality named Joe.
Everyone knew Joe and Joe knew just about everyone. Countless housewives wouldn't dream of planning their menus for the weekend until they had visited his produce market to see what Joe had to offer them. His honesty was legendary for it was never a surprise to be told that the corn wasn't so good today and I have heard him say to another customer "There’s not a cantaloupe in the place that you should eat today. You’ll have to leave them for a couple of days, and if that watermelon is no good, bring it back, I'll give you another." What a way to run a business, one might say, but it was the way he ran his business and we all came in to him and wanted to buy from him. We liked the way he ran the business!
He had a mind of his own and he knew exactly what he thought about such human characteristics as stupidity, laziness, graft and dishonesty. He was never afraid to speak his mind and those of us who truly listened found he possessed more than his share of "Good, old fashion, common horse sense". Sometimes a rare possession these days.
He loved to work hard; he loved to sell good food; he loved to share a good laugh; he loved to please people and his scale of ten read over the poundage when he made a sale. I would say he loved people, too.
It was with sincere grief and a deep sense of loss that we heard of his death. Today there is an empty Joe-sized place in our hearts as we say -- "so long, Joe, its been so good to know you."
Hazel & Howard Turner
Submitted by Mark Wirey