Obituary of Vera H. Burton

Vera H. Burton, of Rockaway, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville at the age of 93.

Born in Phillipsburg to the late Julius “George” Luteran and Anna Marie Stankosh, Vera was the fourth of ten children. She was raised in Stanhope by hard-working and devoted parents. She graduated from Netcong High School and went on to graduate from Newark City Hospital School of Nursing. Her career as a Registered Nurse began at Newark City Hospital. In her 30 years of nursing, she was employed at various places including Morris View Healthcare Center as the Head Nurse of Building #2. Vera was a compassionate woman and a phenomenal nurse. 

Vera married her soul mate William E. Burton, in 1949. They began their life journey in Jersey City before relocating to the Beacon Hill section of Denville in 1951. Together, with their four lively daughters, they enjoyed 28 years of love and laughter there as a family.  She was involved with the town and volunteered at the Health Department giving out vaccines. Vera also loved to play Canasta with her girlfriends and was a bowler on the Terry’s Drugs League. When Bill retired, they moved to Oswego, NY and later to Phoenix, AZ before returning home and officially retiring to the Fox Hills section of Rockaway Township. 

Throughout her life, Vera was a prolific writer. She enjoyed journaling her activities, sent letters and postcards to family and friends, and added sweet notes to her daughters’ lunchboxes. During their retirement years as she and Bill traveled the world, she took photos and created her treasured picture albums.  Every picture was labeled and shared with family and friends.

Vera never stopped moving; she loved to exercise, including jazzercise and water aerobics. Her favorite exercise was dancing with her sweetheart. Bill and Vera could dance the night away, and they were fantastic at it. Her daughters are deeply saddened by their mother’s passing but they take comfort in knowing she is dancing in heaven with their dad, her adoring husband, LCDR William E. Burton.

Above anything else, Vera was a devoted mother to her girls, Pat, Diane, Barbara, and Florence, a cherished grandmother, a loving great-grandmother, and a caring sister.  She is predeceased by her siblings George, Anna, Lewis, Barbara, and Joseph. Her siblings Elizabeth Tynan of Hackettstown, Frances Bachert of FL, Adam Luteran of Blairstown, and Dorothy Whitehead of New York will miss her bubbly personality, frequent phone calls and letters. We would like to give a special thanks to Mom’s caregivers, Rostachu Jao and Renee Morre, who cared for her as if she were family.

Public Visitation will be held on Tuesday, the 30th of July from 3 - 7 pm at Norman Dean Home for Services, 16 Righter Ave., Denville. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, the 31st of July at 10 am at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 15 Myers Ave., Denville. Burial will follow at Stanhope Union Cemetery, Netcong. Please leave a condolence, light a candle, and share your favorite memory of Vera with her family.