Verona Burton

Mankato Mortuary 1001 N. Riverfront Drive Mankato, MN 56001 (507) 388-2202 Verona D. Burton, age 91 of Mankato, died Saturday, September 27, 2014 at Sterling House in Mankato. Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, October 2, 2014 at St. John's Episcopal Church with Fr. Paul Rider officiating. A visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at the Mankato Mortuary. Burial will be in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to St. John's Episcopal Church or AAUW Scholarship Fund. Verona was born November 23, 1922 to John Edward and Verona Anna Marie (Dillman) Devine in Reading, PA. She graduated in 1940 from Julia Richman High School in New York, NY and went on to earn a Bachelor degree in Botany from Hunter College in 1944. Verona graduated from the University of Iowa with a PhD in Botany in 1948. She moved to Mankato that same year to join the Biology Department of Mankato State Teachers College, where she taught until her retirement in 1986. On July 22, 1950, Verona was united in marriage to Daniel F. Burton. Together they had one son. Verona was an active member of her community by serving as the first President of the Mankato State University Faculty Union, a longtime treasurer of Blue Earth County Democrats, Past-President of American Assoc. University Women - Mankato Chapter, and Past-President of the Mankato Chapter of Business and Professional Women. She was the first affirmative action officer at MSU and served on the State Commission on Status of Women. She was a longtime member of St. John's Episcopal Church and was its first female Senior Warden. Verona served on the Minnesota State Teachers Retirement Board and along with Dan, received the Hubert H. Humphrey Award from the state DFL. Verona was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma - Education Organization and Sigma Zi - Science Honor Society. Verona is survived by her son, John Daniel (Aaron Hunt) Burton of Chicago, IL. Verona was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Daniel in 1997.