Retired Covenant pastor Thorstein Burtness passed away on September 24, 2021, in Aurora, Colorado. He was 96.
Thorstein Warren Burtness Jr. was born to parents Ruth Ericksen Burtness and Thorstein Burtness Sr. on August 28, 1925, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When Thor was about five, the family relocated to the Chicago area where they settled into a home in Oak Park. Thor spent the rest of his childhood there, graduating from Oak Park/River Forest High School in 1943.
Thor began studies at nearby Wheaton College that fall, only to withdraw and enlist in the Army Air Corps in January 1944 as World War II continued. Upon discharge in 1946, he resumed his studies at Wheaton, graduating in 1950. Believing that God was calling him to a ministry in the church, he went to study at Dallas Theological Seminary.
While a student at Dallas, Thor went on a blind date with friends and met Vivian Stovall. Their relationship developed, and Thor and Vivian were married on September 3, 1951, at Scofield Memorial Church in Dallas.
After Thor graduated from seminary in 1953, he and Vivian embarked on a 30-year career in pastoral ministry, serving churches in Hitchcock, Texas; Alma and Oakland, Nebraska; Wallace, Michigan; and Rockford, Illinois. After leaving his last church post, Thor pursued training in clinical pastoral education back in Dallas where he and Vivian lived until 2000 when they moved to Denver to be near family.
Thor was preceded in death by Vivian, who died in 2014 a few months after their 62nd wedding anniversary; his grandson Daniel; and several other family members. He is survived by his sons, David and John (Carol); and their children, Hannah and Ben. He is also survived by brothers-in-law Glenn Deaver and Bud Knoedler, sister-in-law Velma Fetzer, and many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on October 22, 2021, at the Windsor Gardens Community Church in Denver, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Thor Burtness Sr. Endowed Scholarship at Wheaton College, Windsor Gardens Community Church, or to a charity of your choice.
Peace be to his memory.
