AGENDA
MEMORIAL – DANTON BURROUGHS
MAY 17, 2008 – 2:00 PM
TARZANA COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER
PROGRAM:
Brief statement by Alex Cornelius and Ralph Herman as co-MCs (with some personal comments).
Welcome. Introduction of Councilman Dennis Zine and TCCC representative.TCCC representative – Brief discussion of TCCC and importance to Danton.
MC: Introduces Councilman Dennis Zine.Councilman Zine, discuss Danton’s commitment to Tarzana and the legacy of his grandfather Edgar Rice Burroughs and his impact on creation of suburban communities in the Valley in the early 1900s, Danton’s membership and involvement in the Tarzana/Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerace and his commitment to maintain and promote the works of grandfather enjoyed by millions for close to century.
MC: Introduces a representative of the Burroughs family who speaks for Linda, Dejah, Jane, John and Dian.
MC: Introduces representative of ERB, Inc., Jim Sullos to speak.Limit five minutes to all following, friends of Danton to speak, in order, without introduction:
Robert Mertes
Jerry Berns
Alex Cornelius
Bill Hillman
Janet/Cathy or Willie from Office to Speak
Ralph HermanKaatcya. Solo arrangement of special tribute song Ralph will introduce and lead her into with story.
MC: Announces anyone else who would like to speak and we will have an open mic for no more than 5 minutes a piece at same time MC announces food and beverages in tribute to Danton, he enjoyed his red wine.
Kaatcya provides two or three more appropriate solo vocals during the mixing of the crowd.
Tribute from Robert Mertes at Danton's Memorial
I am honored to speak today in remembrance of our friend and loved one Danton Burroughs, this very special human being that touched everyone he knew. This is witnessed here today by the number of people attending and the untold number that were not able to attend.
DANTON BURROUGHS: June 21, 1944 - May 1, 2008
The inimitable Mr. Burroughs, (known to all his childhood peers as Danny) a person like you have never seen the likes of, he nearly defies description. He was a unique individual amongst unique individuals, an extremely intelligent human being with an enormous penchant for all things eclectic. His interest ranged from fine art to marbles and every other thing in between that can be conjured by the imagination. His interests in fact were so varied that the average human being could only wonder with awe and fascination.
My friend, Danton Burroughs, was a person with great ability to see beauty in almost all things and almost all humans. He was a very good-hearted individual with great compassion and a longing desire to share with friends and loved ones especially and others, all of the joy and wonder that he found in the world. A person in Dan's presence would never lack interest for the focused instruction and insight that you would receive on any given topic or new found treasure from a local swap meet or jewelry show. Not to mention a piece of Tarzan art or memorabilia that had not yet been viewed. This, even after years of having seen what one would consider the entire collection, but no, Dan always had more. What a wonderful guy and what joy he'd receive while including others in his own. I've known Danton for fifty one years now and I have never known of or seen a display of malicious intent towards others, even those that had done wrong by him, he was truly a compassionate human being, caring, good natured and a true heart. Everyone I ever knew that was familiar with Dan to any degree, loved the man, for all the right reasons; on the account of his youthful zest and enthusiasm for life, his good nature, his honesty, his caring personality and most of all his childlike demeanor and innocence.
Dan always reflected back to the people he interacted with a very personal acknowledgement of how important they were to him and what a joy it was for him to include you to be part of his life, in Danny, many found a kindred soul. If there was ever anything negative that could have been said about Dan, it was far outshadowed and outshone by all the positive aspects of his character and personality. Alone now, in this world as my friend has gone and I lament his passing, I will miss him until the day I die and I will cherish each and every memory. He lives now in each and every one of the hearts of the people that loved him, he is truly missed. Today we celebrate the life of our loved one and I am willing to guarantee that we all feel honored to have shared our lives with and to have known this fine individual.
And so I say goodbye, to the last and the Greatest of the Tarzans.
Robert Mertes
A Tribute from Stephen Korshak (Orlando, Florida)
Most people who are born into a famous family have trouble finding their own identity in the world. Some get lost or overwhelmed living the in those shadows. This was not the case with Danton Burroughs. Danton found his purpose in preserving the Burroughs family legacy. This preservation of the family legacy was a natural outgrowth of Danton’s love of collecting.But this in itself would not tell the full story of Danton. Not only was he a loving family man but he was an inspiration to all of us with his noble fight against Parkinson’s for so many years.
Personally he was a tremendous help to me recently in completing my new book on J. Allen St. John, the great illustrator who collaborated with Edgar Rice Burroughs on the McClure first edition on Tarzan, John Carter, et. al. Danton wrote an important contribution to the St. John book. When we finished the book, he told me that this was the kind of recognition that St. John deserves and one my grandfather would have been proud of. Those words meant a lot to me.
Danton touched so many of us, not only with his life story, but with his words, his warmth and his humor. His legacy is not lost in the shadow of great ancestors, but found in those collection of memories we will treasure forever.
Bill Hillman Speaks
AFTER THE CEREMONY
Photos courtesy of Cathy Wilbanks and Bill Hillman
Dejah Burroughs and Cathy Wilbanks . |
Remembering Danton at Charlie G's (clockwise from left) Cathy Wilbanks ~ Janet Mann ~ Thomas Yeates ~ Stan Galloway ~ Henry Franke ~ Bill Hillman |
 |
 |
DANTON BURROUGHS (1944 - 2008)
TRIBUTE
Goodbye dear friend ~ So many
good times ~ So many memories
To live in hearts we leave
behind is not to die.
CONTENTS
www.erbzine.com/dantonburroughs
Contents |
1. Hillman |
2. Friends |
3. Yeates |
4. Griffin |
5. School Chums |
Ages |
Treasures |
Conventions |
Broadway |
Tarzana |
6. Bibliophiles |
7. Phil Burger |
1. Memorial Card |
2. Friend's Eulogy |
3. Hillman Eulogy Notes |
4. Mertes ~ Photos I |
5. Photos II |
Photos III |
Photos IV |
Family Archive |
Hillman Eulogy |
Early Years |
Later Years |
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Tarzan@westman.wave.ca
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