April 13, 1953 – March 6, 2022
Julie Ann Burt was born April 13, 1953, to Lewis Donald Burt and Mary Katherine Eaton in Detroit, Michigan. She was the fourth of five siblings (Bill, Lynne, David, Julie and Geoff) in a family that routinely welcomed those less fortunate at their dinner table. Julie’s generous nature came from her mother, a high school guidance counselor who always looked out for others.
Her artistic spirit was nurtured from the beginning. Her parents sent her to art programs at Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan throughout her childhood. In the 7th grade, on a school bus with a flute on her lap, she first met Chris, her future husband and the love of her life. They didn’t become a couple until they were 19, but even before it became official, Chris escorted Julie as the Homecoming Queen and they graduated together from West Bloomfield High School in 1971.
After high school, they moved to Lenado, Colorado, where they enjoyed their “misspent youth”, working in a sawmill during the summer and skiing in the winter. When the sawmill closed in 1974, they moved to Oregon, and in 1977 bought their house up Sixes River, where they have worked and played for the last 45 years.
In January, 1980, Julie and Chris were officially married for two dollars in the Virgin Islands, where their son, Daemian was born. They returned to Oregon, and in 1985 their daughter, Lena was born.
Julie supported Chris in his glass blowing career while raising their two young children. Later she took up her ceramic art full time, along with countless other passions. She was an avid beekeeper, a dedicated gardener, a guerrilla tree-planter, a phenomenal cook, and an aspiring bass player. She hiked Humbug Mountain nearly every week and could throw a fabulous dinner party for 15 people with 15 minutes notice. She was brash, funny, heartfelt, creative, adventurous, and crazy practical.
In 2010, Chris and Julie opened Redfish Restaurant and Hawthorne Gallery in Port Orford. Julie played an essential role in the business, in addition to contributing her ceramic art to the gallery collection.
She became a grandmother in 2014 and was an integral part of all four of her grandchildren’s lives. Maya, Luca, Lily and Hugo spent time with “Mimi” every week. As Luca would say whenever anything was broken, “Mimi can fix it”.
After Julie’s first breast cancer diagnosis in 2007, she vowed to live every day to its fullest and she kept her word. She accomplished as much as ten people in a 24 hour period – yet still made everyone around her feel special, like they were the center of her universe. She loved to travel as much as she loved being at home with her family and loved ones, surrounded by her garden and art. She was perpetually late, but never stressed about it. Guilt was not part of her vocabulary.
You knew when Julie entered the room: she was tall, poised, strong, cashmere-soft, and loud. Julie was always the first person dancing and the last person to finish clapping.
She died in an accident involving a ladder on Sunday, March 6, 2020. She was preceded in death by her mother; father; and brother, Bill. She is survived by her husband, Chris; her children, Daemian and Lena; her four grandchildren; and a huge heartbroken community of friends and extended family, who loved her immensely and will miss her fiercely. We are all wishing Mimi could fix our broken hearts.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, March 18, 2022 at 1 pm, at the Denmark Cemetery, 47404 Floras Lake Loop, Langlois OR 97450.
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