Wesley Ray Burr
Wesley Ray Burr
1936 – 2025
Wesley Ray Burr, 88, peacefully returned to his heavenly home on June 13, 2025.
Wesley was born on August 19, 1936, in Bingham Canyon, Utah, to Clifton Ray and Emily Mazel Burr. He was the third of eight children, and the family spent Wes’s childhood in different areas of
Utah, living in Bingham Canyon, Provo, Midvale, Moab, Roosevelt, and Union. During his childhood, Wesley enjoyed farm chores, building, drafting, bareback horse riding, basketball, and tennis. He graduated from Jordan High School in 1954, having met Ruth Darton during his senior year. After graduating, Wesley took classes from the University of Utah and continued to date Ruth. He presented her with a diamond ring in June of 1956, before going on a 2-year mission to the Gulf States for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and on November 14, 1958, Wes and Ruth were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.
After Wesley graduated from Brigham Young University with his BA in 1959 and MD in 1961, the Burr family moved to Minnesota, where Wesley received his PhD from the University of Minnesota. Wesley then taught at Portland State University for three years before returning to Utah, where he would teach at Brigham Young University for thirty years. Wesley retired from teaching in 1999, and he and Ruth served a mission to New Zealand in 2000, after which the couple spent many happy years with their family in different areas of Utah. Wesley lived in South Jordan after Ruth’s passing in 2023, where he was living when the couple was reunited in heaven.
Wesley was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Wesley and Ruth had four children, and the greatest joys of their
lives were their family and the gospel. Together they spent countless hours serving the Lord and those around them, graciously using their talents in many ways. They were very intentional about parenting and grandparenting, prioritizing not only time with their family but also teaching them — through words and actions — to love the Lord and each other. They prioritized family trips (taking their children camping and boating in their younger years and organizing and financing larger gatherings in their later years), selfless service (starting a charitable organization to bless the lives of those in need), and having fun (never forgetting that a good tease was sure to help nearly any challenge).
Throughout Wesley’s life, he enjoyed many different hobbies and cultivated many talents. He loved building and woodworking, wrote multiple text and family-history books, built model planes, did ancestry work of all kinds, and loved the outdoors — whether he was camping in the mountains, boating at the lake, or gardening in his backyard. He was known for his ability to work hard — and was always humming a tune while he did! Wesley was a natural leader, teacher, and mentor and was constantly seeking to improve and learn. More impressively, he used all of these talents to bless others: as a builder, he vastly improved the life of his son Steven, who had muscular dystrophy; as a teacher and researcher, he built a legacy of respect and integrity in his field of family science; and as a disciple, he allowed the teachings of the Church to guide his life of service to others.
Wesley is survived by three of his children and their spouses, Kenneth and Paula Burr (West Jordan, UT), Robert and Cheryl Burr (Forney, TX), and Nicole and Kyle Kimzey (Washington, UT); fifteen grandchildren; and fifty great-grandchildren (with number fifty-one on the way). He is predeceased by his wife, Ruth Burr; his son, Steven Burr; his parents; and four siblings. Wesley’s funeral service will be Wednesday, July 9, 2025 at the Grasslands Stake Center (996 West Center Street; Springville, UT) at 11:00 a.m. The viewing will be that morning from 9:30 to 10:30 and the graveside service will be at the Evergreen Cemetery (1997 S 400 East Street; Springville, UT) at 12:30 p.m.