John R. Burden, age 71, of Orlando, Florida passed away on Sunday, December 3, 2023 surrounded by his family in Orlando, Florida.
He was born on December 10, 1951, in Sidney, OH, son to parents Virginia (Steinke) and the late Richard Burden. On July 17, 1971, he married Deborah Gehrlich.
John lived in Ohio during the early part of his life and had many interesting jobs including farmer, volunteer firefighter, short and long-haul trucker, chicken egg collector, grain elevator and even counted fishing worms. John and his family moved to Florida in 1978, where he worked hard to pursue a career as a general contractor (builder). He obtained his Certified Building Contractor license in 1984 and progressed through his career, building thousands of homes throughout the central Florida area. John had many things he loved, which included his family, fishing, golf, bowling, winning constantly at gambling, Ohio State football and his love of his orange cat, Charlie.
In addition to his beloved wife of 53 years, Deborah, John is survived by his mother, Virginia Burden of Botkins, OH; two sons, Michael Burden and his wife, Laura, of Orlando, FL, and Mitchell Burden and his wife, Laura, of Winter Park, FL; two daughters, Melissa Burden and her spouse, Janet, of Orlando, FL and Melanie Burden of Tulsa, OK; six grandchildren, Arabelle Burden, Kylie Burden-Robinson, Ryan Burden, JJ Burden, Jamie Klay, and Megan Siegelin; three sisters, Mary Ann Hall and her husband, Bob, of Convoy, OH, Elaine Taylor and her husband, Marcus, of Bellefontaine, OH, and Carol Martin and her husband, Van, of Leesville, LA; three brothers, William Burden and his wife, Marleen of Pleasant Hill, OH, Donald Burden of Lima, OH, and Robert Burden and his wife, Lucille, of West, Liberty, OH; and a sister-in-law, Kathy Burden, of Botkins, OH.