Gifford, Burton Edwin 1917-2014

GIFFORD, MADOLL, DOWNS, LANG, JOSSIE, BACK, LUENSE

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 6/2/2014 at 14:47:59

Burton Gifford Dec 1, 1917 - May 30, 2014

Burton Gifford, 96, of Grandview Heights in Marshalltown, died Friday, May 30.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 3, at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Visitation will be held one-hour prior to the services. A lunch and time of fellowship will immediately follow the services. He will be laid to rest in the Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be directed in his name to the Salvation Army. For condolences, please visit www.mitchellfh.com. Ph. 641-844-1234.

Born Burton Edwin Gifford on December 1, 1917, at Laurel, Iowa, he was the son of William J. and Minnie Marie (Madoll) Gifford. When he was 1 ½ years old, his mother died in the 1918 flu epidemic. Burton was raised by his grandparents in Newton, Ferguson, and Macon, Missouri. Since 1936 he has lived in Marshalltown. He received his education in Ferguson.

On June 30, 1940, he was united in marriage to Dorothy L. Downs in Bethany, MO. They were blessed with 56 years of marriage when she passed on December 1, 1996. He married Mildred Lang on January 16, 1998, at the Little Brown Church. Mildred passed away in November of 2004.

Burton was first employed at Marshall Canning and then for 43 years, was a machinist for Fisher Controls, retiring in 1980. He was a member of the former Grace United Methodist Church and then joined First United Methodist.

Left to cherish his memory are his son, Gary (Meradean) Gifford of Marshalltown, his grandchildren: Jody (Martin) Jossie of Sussex, WI and their daughter Emmorie; and Timothy (Jody) Gifford of West Des Moines and their children Sadie, Molly and Samuel, as well as many nieces and nephews.

In death, Burton rejoined his wife Dorothy, wife Mildred, siblings-Goldie Back, Dorothy Luense, Charles Gifford, James Gifford and Myron Gifford, and grandsons, Todd and Troy, in infancy. ~ The Des Moines Register Legacy, Des Moines, Iowa.