David Albin Burt

David Albin Burt, 89, passed away on November 19, 2023 in North Logan, Utah. He was born March 13, 1934, at his grandmother’s house in Fruitvale, Idaho, to Harold Osborn Burt and Violet Crystal McMahan, the third of seven children.

David spent his youth in the wilds of rural Idaho and Oregon, fishing and hunting with his brothers, learning, and helping his family keep a roof overhead—once even a tent and another time, a re-purposed turkey barn. He plowed the family farm with horses, and he convinced his parents to get electricity, wiring the entire house by himself at 16 years old. He saved enough money to attend a TV repair school in Chicago in 1953, and with those technical skills earned money necessary to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Great Lakes Mission of the Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan area, where he met his future wife, Letty Mae Adkins.

When David returned from his mission, he continued his education, graduating from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science, and later his Master of Science. He wooed and won the beautiful Letty Mae, whom he married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1958, and together they built a beautiful home, a beautiful life, and had six beautiful children.

David’s professional life took him from work at Upper Air Research Laboratories at the University of Utah, and then on to become one of the founders of Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah. He became the Associate Director of the Systems Division and the Program Manager for many sensors, satellites, and sounding rockets. He was named a full Research Professor for USU. He attended nearly 400 rocket launches with his work and flew over three million miles, traveling east to Russia, west to the Marshall Islands, south to the southern tip of Brazil, north to Thule, Greenland, and everywhere in between. In 1998, he was awarded the Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology, and when he eventually retired, continued his life of adventure and learning.

David was a devoted husband and father, and his home was full of children and laughter and music, work and fun and good food, and always, first and foremost, the gospel he loved. He and Letty served four separate missions after he retired, in Zurich Switzerland, Long Island New York, Indianapolis Indiana, and Omaha Nebraska.

He is survived by siblings James (Glenda) and Mary (Keith), and his children, Cindy (Shane), Robert (Linda), Susan (Michael), Steven (Lisa), James (Steffanie), and Crystal (Kyle), and preceded in death by his patiently waiting wife. Their beautiful children had more beautiful children, and when he left, he had 31 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. He will be remembered—on multiple continents, in many languages, for generations to come—for his love of family, his dedication to his work, and his unwavering faith in God.

Viewings will be held Friday, December 1, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Allen Mortuary of North Logan, 420 E 1800 N, North Logan, Utah, and Saturday, December 2, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel, 1650 E 2600 N, North Logan, Utah. Funeral Services will immediately follow at 1:00 p.m. Interment in the North Logan Cemetery.

Condolences may be shared online at allenmortuaries.com

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