CAMBRIDGE - Edward Cluff Burton, Jr. passed away at Chesapeake Woods Center on Sept. 25, 2017. He was born in Cambridge on Feb. 11, 1928, and was the son of the late Mildred Cluff and Edward C. Burton, Sr.
Ed attended schools in Dorchester County and graduated from Cambridge High School in 1944 and from the Mercersburg Academy in 1945. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947, including being a member of the Cold War "Task Force Frigid" in Alaska. Subsequently, he attended Johns Hopkins University, where he studied chemical engineering. He left university at the age of 21 to join the Cambridge Gas Company as President. On March 17, 1950, he married Norma Lee Grupe.
In 1958, he joined Chesapeake Utilities Corporation and eventually became Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. While working at Chesapeake Utilities, he received his B.A. in Business from Salisbury University in 1978. After his retirement in 1983, he continued as Chairman of the Board and consultant to Chesapeake Utilities, working primarily on acquisitions until his final retirement in 1988. In addition, he resumed management of the Cambridge Gas Company in 1970 upon the death of his brother, until it was acquired by Chesapeake Utilities in 1986. For the past eight years, he lived with his daughter, Dr. Catherine (Cassie) Burton, in Cambridge, with help from his caregivers, Mary Griffith and India Thomas, up until his recent illness.
Ed was a member of the Boumi Temple (Shriners) and Cambridge Lodge No. 66 A.F. & A.M., where he was the next-to-oldest surviving Past Master. He was also a member of Dorchester Post #91 American Legion and Cambridge Lodge No. 1272 B.P.O.E., and for a number of years was a member of the Greater Salisbury Committee. Ed had a number of interests over the years, most predominately his family, and in his retirement years, with the Salvation Army, serving as Chairman of the Board of Advisors and as a volunteer/supervisor at the Thrift Store. In addition, he loved traveling, antiques, gardening, reading, art/architecture, history, Baltimore football (Colts and Ravens), and the Orioles.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Norma Lee Burton; and three daughters, Constance (Connie) Burton of Gastonia, N.C., Catherine (Cassie) Burton of Cambridge and Karen Burton McDaniel of Durham, N.C. He is also survived by one grandson, Matthew Cluff McDaniel, and his wife, Brandi, of Durham, N.C.; two great-grandchildren, Savannah McDaniel and Turner Ross McDaniel; one sister-in-law, Joan Burton of Chestertown; good friend, Dr. Don Harmon of Annapolis; and a number of nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his grandson, Ross Edward McDaniel; son-in-law, Jerry Sailer; and brother, Robert Burton.
A memorial service will be held on Oct. 5, 2017 at 1 p.m. at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Cambridge, with Rev. Dale Krotee officiating. The family will receive friends from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. preceding the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ross McDaniel Children's Endowment Fund at the Brain Tumor Center at Duke, Box 3624, DUMC, Durham, NC 27710. Please reference "Duke-18BT" and "Edward Burton Memorial". All proceeds from this endowment go directly to support the extraordinary brain tumor research being done at Duke by Ross's neuro-oncologist, Dr. Henry Friedman, and his team.
Arrangements are in the care of the Thomas Funeral Home, P.A. in Cambridge. Letters of condolence may be sent to www.thomasfuneralhomepa.com