Burton Dwyre

Burton G. Dwyre Jr. died Saturday, Dec. 12, in his Taos home. He was born Feb. 1, 1928, in Silver City, NM. He grew up in Santa Fe where he attended public schools, graduating valedictorian in 1945 from Santa Fe High School. He enjoyed playing football in high school and was a passionate skier. He earned degrees in English language and literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1949 and 1951. He was a naval officer in the Korean War on the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge. After the war, he moved to Oslo, Norway, where he worked for two years in a Norwegian travel agency learning to speak the language fluently. Upon returning to the states, he accepted a position teaching English at the University of Colorado where he taught until 1973. He met the love of his life Ezra Wood in 1972 and they lived together happily for the next 27 years. Burt taught English at New Mexico Highlands University for 16 years until 1990. He received teacher of the year honors in 1985, elected by the students at Highlands. He and Ezra moved to Taos in 1990 and they had eight years before Ezra died in 1998. Burt was preceded in death by his parents Burton and Mamie Dwyre. He is survived by his sister Dorothy Grosvenor of Santa Fe, his brother Bob Dwyre of Silver City, and their families. Donations may be made in his honor to Taos Land Trust, P.O. Box 376, Taos, NM 87571.