Rev. C. Phillip Burt

MONONA – Rev. C. Phillip Burt, a retired Methodist minister age 91, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, at Heritage Senior Living in Monona, Wis. Phil passed away with family there to love and care for him, finally finishing the recurring dream that his wife Phyllis, who preceded him in death by twelve years, and one of their dogs were on the other side of a doorway to greet him.    Phil was an everyday pastor, a man of such genuine faith in his life that it was a palpable force and moved people in many seen and unseen ways. He was kind, respectful, and humble, a storyteller with a dose of humor and a moral at the end, in the manner of a good Midwesterner.    He was playful as well, an active participant in practical jokes with other parishioners, on his wife and on his children. He enjoyed board games, hoops and wiffleball with his kids, had a terrific hook shot with either hand, and if a night had Snickers, Yahtzee, Pepsi and being home with Phyllis, he was satisfied.    Phil was a small-town man, but had a cosmopolitan understanding. He was an avid reader. He was inquisitive about everything and remembered names, places and connections. A bishop described Phil as preaching with the New Testament in one hand and Time magazine in the other. He could switch from a conversation about theology to a conversation about last Sunday’s Packer game and be equally comfortable with both.    Silence to absorb the natural world was nurtured when you were with him in the woods or on water. He loved the lands and waters of Wisconsin, used natural analogies of the earth and its seasons often in his sermons. He supported the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI, and spent many hours with Phyllis tallying the flocks of Canadian geese that populated the Horicon Marsh in spring and fall.    He enjoyed collecting antique china and chocolate pots, and designing and building his own train cars with personalized cities. Down in the basement, he shined when he had grandkids around and could run his model railroad, with hat and whistle, and cars he had painted that bore the initials of Phil, his father Chet, and his father-in-law Floyd.    Phil was born to Chet and Ellen Burt on July 4th, 1929 in Aurora, NE, was raised and graduated in Ladysmith, WI, in 1947. He met Phyllis Fahlgren at the United Methodist Church, where her father Floyd was the pastor, and they were married on September 30, 1950. Each one claimed to have seen the other first.    His father Chet a newspaper publisher and reporter, and his mother a schoolteacher, Phil was born to words and ink working in the newspaper and printing business in Ladysmith for his father, then in New Holstein. He entered the ministry as a student pastor in Superior, WI, in 1958.    The family moved to Briggsville, WI, near the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, in 1963. Phil took on three country churches with four kids ages four to twelve while attending Garrett Theological Seminary full-time near Chicago. He loved church and loved God’s creation, and the rural area provided both for he and his family.    He next served in Cuba City, where daughter Sara was born. In 1973, he moved to Darlington, WI, to serve the Darlington and Fayette Methodist churches, and would remain there until 1999. A highlight of his stay was the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Darlington United Methodist Church.    He and Phyllis retired to Beaver Dam. Phil took up preaching at small churches almost immediately. His last charge was at the Salem-Eldorado Church in Fond du Lac.    In the 1980s, when farms suffered, Phil was instrumental in bringing the United Methodist Church counseling and assistance to many farmers across Wisconsin. He was unafraid of the disadvantaged, his house serving as a Salvation Army contact point for travelers and people in need, and rang the Salvation Army bell later in life. He hand-wrote his original sermons in pen and ink until he retired at age 87 after 58 years of service, and kept his original preaching bible together with electrical tape.Phil was preceded in death by his wife Phyllis and his brother Tom.    His sister Louise Mills survives him. His five children and their spouses survive: Paul (Charlene), Jeff (Cori), Mary Sandness (Paul), Greg (Lynda), and Sara Bangs (Randy). His grandchildren are Alicia, Phillip, Rose, Nick, Linnaea, Laura, Paige, Molly, Sally, Eli, Emmet, Abe, Isaac, David, and Stephen. He has nine great-grandchildren.    No service has been planned due to the pandemic. The family would like to thank the staff at Heritage House in Monona for their wonderful care of Phil as he declined in health.    Donations can be made to the International Crane Foundation or the Darlington United Methodist Church in his name.    All Faiths Funeral & Cremation Service of Madison is assisting the family. Online condolences can be made at www.866allfaiths.com   All Faiths Funeral & Cremation Services Madison (608)442-0477 www.866allfaiths.com