Lasting Memories

Terry Lee Burkoth
April 7, 1941-April 3, 2012
Palo Alto, California

After completing his cherished daily bike ride, Terry Lee Burkoth passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in his home of 34 years in Palo Alto, Calif.

Terry always lived life to its fullest. The eldest of three children born to William and Dorothy Burkoth of Chicago, Ill., he was an intellectual with a boundless work ethic and a renaissance man who possessed a perpetual curiosity and humor for the wonders of life.

With an analytical mind and an early love of books, he attended Ripon College in Ripon, Wis. He then went on to complete his doctorate in organic chemistry at Stanford University, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University. He enjoyed a long and distinguished career in pharmaceutical development that included 42 patents, 30 publications, as well as developing products from pesticides to needleless injections.

He was an influential leader at Zoecon and Alza. Prior to his retirement, he was a founding member of Powderject Pharmaceuticals and a visiting scholar at Oxford University. Terry met the love of his life, Sharolyn Howard, while he was in graduate school. Together they would build a marriage of 44 years and a fun-filled life centered on family and kindred friends. He was a devoted and beloved father and father-in-law who led by example and whose strength and support evolved with the lives of his children. From building pinewood-derby cars and constructing Halloween costumes, to taking his daughter for her first ear-piercing, to attending soccer games, to connecting with the interests of his son- and daughters-in-law, to babysitting his grandchildren, his spirit lives on in the fulfilling lives of those he leaves behind.

He is survived by his wife Shari; his daughter, Amy; his sons, Tim and Bill; his children-in-law, Joe, Yaya and Jennifer; his five grandsons, Matt, Ben, Toby, Cameron and Carter; and his beloved dog, Kallie, and grand-dog, Sammy.

His spirit will continue to be found running the hills at Stanford, biking Old La Honda and walking the Baylands.