Obituary of Robert Lloyd Burkholder

On Jan. 2, 2023, Robert (Bob) Lloyd Burkholder, loving husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend left this world for a better place at the age of 90 and a fully lived life.

Bob was born on Feb. 3, 1932, in Williamsport, PA, the youngest son of Raymond and Helen Burkholder. He was a great athlete and loved school.

He started his working career at a very young age by pulling a wagon through the streets of Williamsport selling produce from a local farm and setting up bowling pins in the local alley.

At the age of 14, the family moved to Tucson AZ, where his adventures continued, and he helped his father and brother build the family home and explored the Tucson mountains.

Bob is a graduate of Tucson High School (Class of ’50) and earned a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration from University of Arizona. He worked at a variety of jobs throughout his college career, including a forest fire fighter, bartender and an electrician’s assistant and accountant at Silver Bell Mine.

Bob met and fell in love with Martha Ann Cervantes and they married in 1960. A job opportunity with Thiokol Corporation took the family to Brigham City, UT. A promotion took the family to Bucks County PA for several years after which they returned to Utah, where Bob remained until he retired after 30 years.

They returned to the family home base in Tucson for the next 30 years while traveling the country in their RV for part of the year. Bob described himself as a friend to nature – that was his religion. On Sundays, you would always find him taking long walks through the mountains with his dogs. He worked hard to provide for his family but on Friday night he couldn’t wait to exchange his tie for a pair of levis and throw sleeping bags and fishing poles in the truck for a weekend camping trip.

We will forever be grateful for his loving patience. He taught us about life- the proper way to play poker and craps, fish, change a tire, golf, hunt, budget our money, ski, play pool, ice skate and of course make and enjoy a good, dry martini.

Bob was a simple man who truly loved his family and was always there to lend a hand, give advice or just listen and it is that love and the stories of his many adventures that we will remember most.

Bob was predeceased by an older brother, James and an older sister Jayne (Suarez). He is survived by his wife Martha (Cervantes) Burkholder after 62 years of marriage, his four children: Lois (David), Michael, Robin (Tanna), Lisa (Allen), his eight grandchildren: Jennifer, Dawn Jacqueline, Elizabeth, Elena, Braden, Reilly and Nathan, his six great-grandchildren: Jackson, Lily, Camden, Delaney, Wolf and Virginia, his niece Page, 2 nephews Kelly and Scott, 3 great nieces and 3 great nephews.

Join us as we toast Bob with a Celebration of Life at the home of beloved nephew Kelly and Mary Burkholder, 3001 E. Kleindale, Tucson, on February 4 from 2 to 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to National Parks Foundation or to plant an Arizona Memorial Tree in Bob’s honor.