Burton Dwayne Maxwell (May 19, 1937 – March 4, 2019) was born in Stockton, California. He grew up on a farm and served in Korea as a medic in the U.S. Army following the Korean War. He returned and went to Walla Walla University where he studied Theology. There he met his wife, Patricia Gay Halsey. They were married June 5, 1960, in Hillsborough, Oregon. Burton went on to complete a master’s degree in divinity at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
Burton entered into the Seventh-day Adventist ministry in Pennsylvania where he served as a pastoral intern in Harrisburg and Redding. He then took up the district of four churches in Western Pennsylvania. He was ordained at Blue Mountain Academy in a ceremony on July 1966. He spent the next 40 years as a pastor, evangelist, and administrator in North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Central and Southern California, Kansas-Nebraska, Ohio, and Hawaii. After retiring, he continued as an interim-pastor in Fallbrook, El Cajon, and Vista, California.
Burton’s special talent was in building and inspiring others to share the gospel through their own lives. He and his wife created a training program for lay people to share God’s love in their world. They developed materials to use in small group ministries under the name Ohana, which in Hawaiian means “family.” Many of the small church groups still continue in various forms to this day. This is his true legacy.
He leaves behind his wife of 58 years, his son Daniel Maxwell, daughter Patricia Maxwell Robertson, three grandchildren; Justin Peter and his wife Mary Kate, and D’arce Peter.
The family requests donations in lieu of flowers be sent to Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School online or by mail to PO Box 910, Holbrook, AZ 86025; and to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Information provided by the family of Burton Maxwell.
