John Robert Burt, Sr.
John Robert Burt Sr., age 62, of Alabaster, AL, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 11, 2023 surrounded by his children and close friends.
John was born to the union of James Richard Burt and Nancy Ray McClung in Spokane Washington on October 23, 1960, but spent most of his youth and young adult life in Greenville, AL where he served 4 years in the US Army shortly after graduating high school. He also served as a Paramedic and Firefighter for the Greenville Fire Department. In the late 1990’s John relocated to the Birmingham/Shelby County area where he worked in the entertainment industry as a karaoke and disc jockey until retirement.
He was preceded in death by his parents James and Nancy Burt, child, Kelly Michelle Burt and brother Joseph “Uncle Joe” Burt.
John was a kind, intelligent and caring man who always put his children’s needs above his own. He impacted so many people through his love for Christ, family, music, conversation and Alabama football. He was a devout Christian and student of the Bible and shared his wisdom when opportunities would arise. He had a lifelong love for music and especially enjoyed singing and playing his guitar. He always had a way of sharing this passion to connect with people in a very special way. He loved Alabama football and never missed a game or an opportunity to brag on his beloved Tide.
John was funny, witty and a great friend, but above all, he was a family man and his kids and grandkids, who called him Papa John, were more important to him than anything else in life. He loved his family unconditionally and without expectations.
He leaves to cherish his memory son, John “Bobby” Robert Burt Jr. (Ginger); daughter, Star Alisa Pope (Xavier); son, Jared Russell Burt (Debra); daughter, Shelley Burt Silas (Michael); daughter, Christa Marie Burt; grandchildren Sidney, Haley, Riley, Brooklyn, XJ, Harper, Caroline, London, Kelley Mae, Kylie Jane; brother, James Burt; sister, Cindy Dewberry (Hubert); brother, Jerry Burt (Jill); and many cousins, nieces, nephews and close friends that loved him dearly.
Services for John will be Thursday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. and will be laid to rest at Alabama National Cemetery at 2:45 p.m.
1 Corinthians 2:9 – But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
I have been Burt’s friend for five years. How we became friends I couldn’t tell you. When I started dialysis I ended up sitting next to Burt and Burt likes to talk, we never stopped. I have sat next to Burt at dialysis for five years where we became great friends. We talked about everything, our Kids, our military carriers, plain crashes, SCUBA diving, Saturation diving, free diving, politics just anything and everything. While talking we discovered that we probably could met when we were little. When I was little and staying at my grandparents in Grenville I used to go to the Jr Food Store a lot where his dad was the manager and when the lumber yard next to the mill caught on fire we were both there. I was in the street watching and he and his friends were on a fence watching. He also new my Uncle (Lamar Clark) and his son (Bobby Clark). With all of our talking we found that we had a lot in common and we just became really good friends. Burt use to look out for me when I was at dialysis. They tried to give my chair to someone else on everal occasions and Burt got on them and somehow made them put me bac in my chair. My blood pressure drops a lot and one day it dropped to50 over 50 something and I went unconscious for over 5 minutes and there was no one around, Burt was the one that got someone over to me. They had to call 911 and I went to the Emergency room. Who knows what would have happened if Burt hadn’t been there. He was always looking out for me. He was a great friend and very generous. I use to bring lifesavers with me incase my blood sugar dropped. When I no longer needed them I still brought them for the nurses and the techs. Well Burt started eating them so I kept buying them so he could have them. I would give him some in zip lock bags. He went through a lot of them. He said he ate them at night watching Air Disasters and that the grand kids ate them. When he would forget to tell me he was out he would ask me to throw one over to him. we sat kind of catty corner to each other. I was a great pitcher, Burt couldn’t catch worth a darn. When it was all over and he had two or three lifesavers, there were a lot of lifesavers all over the ground. I guess in Burt’s defense he did have needles and tubing stuck in his arm. He felt bad and wanted to do something for me since I was giving him all of those lifesavers. I wouldn’t let him pay me back so when we went to Taco Bell to eat one day after dialysis, he was in his car and I was in mine .when we went through the drive-thru he went first and paid for my food. He did this on several occasions. He bought lunch for the whole staff on two different occasions. That was just the kind of person he was. I am legally blind so he would tell me if I need him to come take me any where he would be glad to do it and I could ride his scooter if I needed to. If you needed something he always had a friend that could help you out. I got divorced and my ex wife made it hard to see my son so I missed out on a lot o firsts as my son got older. I was afraid that as my son got older and on his own I wouldn’t see him and Burt would tell me about the relationship he had with his kids and how much he got to see them. He was really proud of his children and loved them very much. We talked about so many things. He said he looked forward to coming to dialysis to talk to me. I was asked one time to go to another clinic by one of the techs that was mine and Burt’s friend and I wouldn’t do it because I didn’t want to leave Burt. Its hard to believe that he is gone, I still expect to see him in his chair with his scooter parked out in front of him but he’s not there any more. I really miss my friend. When ever dialysis was over Burt left before me. He would get on his scooter and go weigh, then he would come back by my chair to say by. I would say see ya Burt tell Ernie I said hello (Burt & Ernie reference). I did that for three years finally I just starting saying see ya Burt. The last time Burt had Dialysis before he went into the hospital I I went to dialysis real early in the morning so I didn’t see Burt. I wish I could have said see ya Burt one last time. I know he is in a better place and not in any pain any more. See ya Burt. I’ll miss you.