Rob's dream was to go back to Virginia and his ashes will be memorialized there.

Robert Burton known as "Rob" to his friends was a very special man who passed away on September 30th at Huntsville Hospital after many health issues.  While Rob did not have surviving family members he did leave a circle of friends who mourn his loss deeply.  Among those (mentioned by first name only) are Lynn, Maria, Jessica, Max, David, Angela, Janet, Tim and others.

Rob was born in Washington DC to parents who lived in Fairfax, Virginia where he was raised as an only child.  He was exceptionally gifted from an early age completing high school coursework by the age of twelve.  He went to a special school for a time - "School Without Walls" where he learned at his own amazing pace and completed the equivalent of "AP everything" and entered George Washington University at 13 years of age - graduating in Physics and Engineering at 17.  He studied mathematics in England for a year and then entered medical school, at his father's insistence, to earn an MD.  He married during college to another physician, Jerilyn Burton and they moved to Florida after completing their residencies in both Hawaii and on the mainland, at Case Western Reserve.  In total, Rob earned an MD, a Ph.D. in Physics, MS in Mathematics, Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and another Ph.D. in an additional technical field.  Oh - and it wasn't wise to  play Scrabble with him - you would lose!

Rob worked for NASA in Florida until he and his wife opened a family practice clinic in the greater Melbourne area.  At some point, Jerilyn and Robert divorced and she moved back to her home state as an illness overtook her.  Rob moved back to the Washington DC area to be closer to his mother, who was still alive at the time.

Rob's most notable feature besides his wit and sense of humor was his love of all things aviation and his love of horses - interests he pursued all his life.  He would regale us all with tales of his horses Romeo, Biff, Doc, Wyatt, and others.  His ability to personate a horse gave us all laughs.  Rob was a highly social person and loved parties and gatherings especially those of Goshen Hounds in Maryland.

Rob served in the Air Force Reserves, and completed his service as a Bird Colonel and was called to the Middle East where he sustained substantial wounds from his service.  He was forever  plagued by his injuries but he carried on with his brilliant mind and worthy works going forward. His deep understanding of physics, mathematics, and flight allowed him to work on various military defense products that help keep us all safe.

With all Rob's great skills and knowledge, what he craved most was a quiet evening at home watching "The Big Bang Theory"  (what else?) and a good dinner.  He famously had a pet mouse named "Aqua Lung" that he kept alive for three years - a record for a mouse I am sure.  Rob had very blue eyes, a love for flannel shirts, since he was always too cold, and an ice cold coca-cola.