Services were held Saturday for James B. Burkholder, a long-time peace activist and retired U.S. Army colonel, who died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer at age 87.
He was not diagnosed with the cancer until the day he died, his daughter, Midge Adams, said Saturday.
Burkholder, whose 33-year military career included service in three wars — World War II, Korea and Vietnam — served as national president of the group Veterans for Peace.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Burkholder met his wife, Lucille, while attending the University of Pennsylvania, Adams said. Within two weeks they were engaged.
This July the couple would have been married for 65 years, Adams said.
Burkholder joined the Army before World War II. He spent the final years of his military career, from 1970 to 1973, as an officer in the physical disability agency at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.
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Upon retiring in 1973, Burkholder and his family moved to Tucson, "a place he had driven through while moving across the country with the military and thought was just beautiful," Adams said.
Burkholder and his wife became interested in a variety of causes, including human rights, refugee rights, politics, care for the homeless and health care for the uninsured, Adams said.
Lucille Burkholder introduced her husband to the group Veterans for Peace, in which he also served as president of the Tucson chapter.
"My father saw the reality of war and the horrific waste it created in the lives of soldiers lost and in the country where it is fought," Burkholder's son Mike Burkholder said. "He would hope that people would think of the waste of life created by war, which should be the ultimate and last resort. There are far better ways to resolve conflict."
Burkholder was a warm, friendly person who was always eager to learn, his son said. He was a "wonderful role model and a loving family man."
He is survived by his wife, Lucille; five children, James Burkholder Jr. of Philadelphia, Carol Waltman and Lise Ramirez of Green Bay, Wis., and Midge Adams and Mike Burkholder of Tucson. He also leaves behind nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
