Note: The University Honors Program will hold a celebration of life for Diane Burton from 5-8 p.m., April 19, in Lory Student Center Room 302 (Longs Peak).

Diane Burton, née Dixon, passed away at her home in Fort Collins, Colorado on November 20th, 2023, the day after the local used bookstore went out of business and left her family puzzled as to what to do with her vast curated library.

Diane was born in 1947 and grew up in Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the eldest of eight children. Her childhood was spent being scolded by the nuns at St. Mary of the Mount for offenses such as ruining her communion dress while playing in the mud. In high school, to help support her widowed mother, she worked for the Kschier Brothers trying (but failing) to convince the business to invoice their customers for violin repairs. She carried a love of music all her life, and along with so many things, this love was a gift she passed on to her children. When asked which legendary artists she saw in concert during the sixties, she answered “all of them.” Sadly, she discovered shortly before her death that she did not actually attend Woodstock as she’d always believed but took the news rather well. She did, however, continue to attend concerts regularly at many Colorado venues, including Red Rocks Amphitheater, a personal favorite.

Diane believed strongly in higher education. Although she was unable to pursue post-secondary education immediately following high school, she pursued her college education gradually as a mother and full-time secretary. She graduated Summa cum Laude from The University of Pittsburgh in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in media communications and political science, the same year her oldest child graduated from high school. She later received her master’s degree in government from William and Mary in 1992, the same year her youngest child was born. She was fiercely determined about the things that mattered most to her. She was proud that all her children surpassed her in education. Diane loved being surrounded by learning, working in administrative positions at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, and teaching government courses at community colleges (Thomas Nelson in Hampton, Virginia and Front Range in Fort Collins, Colorado). At CSU, she worked as the assistant director of the University Honors Program and other positions for nearly twenty years. Diane helped thousands of students on their educational journey. Many of those have remarked that she was most helpful with her directness and honesty. In advising students, she was always authentic, loving, and kind. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere in Fort Collins without someone approaching Diane, usually previous students, telling her how important and memorable she had been in their life. She had an exceptionally strong work ethic and stated that every job she left required at least two people to fill it after she was gone. Her family could never imagine a reason to challenge her claim. Surprising everyone who knew her, she eventually retired from CSU during the COVID pandemic.

Diane was a woman with many passions and interests. She was an avid reader throughout her life. She was also an excellent writer having spent some time early in her career writing for a local newspaper. Frequently, her family was punished by her red pen, with her editing of their work but she never failed to improve the end product. She was an avid bicyclist for decades, commuting along arduous routes in hilly Pittsburgh long before it was fashionable or easily done like on the planned paths of today. She continued to ride her bike to CSU regularly until retirement. Diane was most adventurous and loved to travel. As a young adult, she considered a career as a stewardess (now flight attendant) but was denied because she was too short. She stated regularly that she was retired, had a passport and money, and would take a trip anywhere with anyone who had a travel idea. She loved living in and exploring Colorado as well. Throughout her life she loved the woods. At every opportunity she would go hiking or camping with her family, which included a string of misbehaved golden retrievers. She sought tirelessly to support the plant world with hundreds of pampered indoor plants and spent months of effort each year selecting the perfect plants from local nurseries to create and maintain a park-like oasis in her backyard. Denied the opportunity earlier in life to pursue forestry as a career, she decided to spend the largest amount of her brief retirement volunteering for various tree nurseries and forest restoration projects. She even became a certified sawyer, operating her own chainsaw at 75 years old. As a sawyer, she assisted with numerous fire restoration projects, controlled burns, and trail maintenance in natural areas. Diane jumped into retirement with the same gusto she exhibited during her working career, with her family believing she was even busier in retirement than she was while fully employed. She volunteered generously, and shared her time, amazing energy, and positive attitude with many organizations, including the Food Bank for Larimer County, Neighbor to Neighbor, The Gardens on Spring Creek, The Poudre River Friends of the Library, The Colorado State Forest Service Nursery, and NOCO Sawyers, partnering with many organizations including Wildlands Restoration Volunteers and Colorado Addicted Trailbuilders Society.

Diane is survived by her chainsaws (unnamed), golden retriever (Jack), siblings (Colleen Carr, Regis Dixon, Jane Dixon Miller, Mark Dixon, Julie Cormack, and Rita Basista), children (Kristine Callahan, Lauren Burton, and Timothy Burton), grandchildren (Abbie Callahan and Evan Callahan), grand dogs (Sadie, Willow, Frankie and Remy), and husband (W. Scott Burton). She is predeceased by her parents Lillian and John B. Dixon Jr, as well as her brother Jake Dixon. In addition she leaves behind 178 well-loved houseplants (really, and this is after giving many away in recent months to most anyone who visited her), some of which have been with her since she lived in Pittsburgh, a minimum of two large bookshelves per room, and an accumulation of “treasures” found at the Arc Thrift Store on half priced Saturdays. Tragically, her tuna casserole recipe is lost to time, but those interested would be advised that it included canned cream of mushroom and did not contain vegetables. She also leaves behind the following advice – passed down from her mother: if your underpants start falling down in public, just let ‘em drop and keep on walking.

Per her wishes, a commemoration of her life will be held in the spring or summer of 2024 when weather permits an outdoor celebration and activities in nature which were so important to her during life. In lieu of flowers, please donate to any one of the groups she volunteered with, or that supports natural areas or the outdoors. Or please plant a tree in her memory and think of her when you hike.

Please share thoughts, memories, and stories on Diane’s tribute page. Hearing about how Diane touched so many and shone so brightly is an amazing tribute to a life well lived.