Sam Burdick

John W. "Sam" Burdick age 81, of Roosevelt, passed away February 24, 2016, at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
He was born March 8, 1934, in Duchesne, to Charles Thomas "Charlie" and Mary Maxine Wimmer Burdick. He married the love of his life Pattie Lou Reidhead, on December 11, 1956, in Elko Nevada. Their Marriage later solemnized in the Vernal LDS Temple. Pattie, who was always by his side, passed away August 31, 2010.
Sam lost his father at the age of 12 and did most of his growing up in Nine Mile and Argyle Canyons, where his uncles had a large influence on his life, teaching him how to skid logs and build roads, and farm. After graduating from High School he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Germany where he achieved the rank of sergeant. After the Army, he returned home to marry Pattie. His father-in-law "Joe Reidhead Sr." gave him his first real highway job working on HWY 40 in Daniels Canyon where it took him no time to move to a finish scraper "Cat & Can" operator. Sam learned a lot about building and finishing roads to perfection from his father-in-law, Joe. He worked for various construction companies in the state of Utah gaining much experience. With Pattie and the kids in tow, he got a job moving from town to town with a one of the largest contractors in Colorado, "Schmidt Construction." It took him no time to work up to a Superintendent for Schmidt. He built miles and miles of interstate and highways in Colorado including much of the railroad grade up Glenwood Canyon. He was promoted to General Superintendent for Schmidt. He received many awards for his work in Colorado. In 1972 he was severely injured while visiting one of his jobs he was supervising, the building of Interstate-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Although he recovered , the damage to his lungs plagued him in his older years. Not long after recovering from the accident, he decided it was time to be at home more with his family in Duchesne. It was there that he spent a short time in the diesel mechanic business, but then realized his true passion for road construction. So he laid every penny he had on the line and bought a worn-out asphalt plant from Gibbons & Reed Co. in SLC. This was the beginnings of the Burdick Paving Co. He and his oldest son, Ken, assembled the plant west of Roosevelt, and after a lot of blood and sweat, soon was making and selling State Spec. Mix. The business grew to where all his kids and son-in-law were deeply vested in it. Beginning in 1975 and for the next 35 years, he and his family built it into the largest paving company in Eastern Utah. He worked a lot in southern Utah for UDOT the FAA and National Parks service. He also did much work for CDOT in Western Colorado. Aside from having his family and some grandchildren working for him, he had another family, the men and women who worked for him, more than a handful he built especially close friendships with.
He sold Burdick Paving to Oldcastle In December of 2009. This was a difficult decision for him and the family to make after 35 years and he sorely missed it. He kept busy by developing his father's farm in Argyle canyon that hadn't raised hay in at least 60 years. He and his boys leveled it and installed the first wheel lines in the canyon and have been raising hay for 2 years. He loved his farm in Argyle and was his favorite place to spend his last days. He had many friends in Roosevelt and even more in Duchesne. He was an avid Utah Jazz fan, and active in the LDS Church.
Sam is survived by his children, Ken Wendell (Teresa) Burdick, Roosevelt; Kelly (Kerry) Farnsworth, Mountain Home; Charles Park Burdick, Joseph John (Thyrena) Burdick, both of Roosevelt; 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren with two on the way; brothers and sisters, Howard Charles "Pete" (Sherry) Burdick; Gerald "Jerry" (Margie) Burdick; Carolyn (Ralph) Madsen; and Shirley Burdick, all of Duchesne.
He was preceded in death by his parents, grandsons, Holden and Corbin; sister, Barbara Meriwether, and brother-in-law, Duane Meriwether.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. at the Roosevelt 2nd Ward LDS Chapel. There will be a viewing on Monday from 6-8 p.m. at the Hullinger Mortuary and from 9:30-10:45 a.m. Tuesday at the church.
Burial will be in the Duchesne Cemetery with Military Honors by American Legion Post #64 and the Utah Honor Guard.