Obituary of James William Burk

James “Grizz” Burk passed away January 8, 2022, in Cottonwood, AZ, after a long battle with ALS. He spent 5 weeks in VVMC and was then sent home on hospice where he was able to be surrounded by family and friends for his last week here.  He was 69 years old. Grizz was born July 8, 1953, in Hot Springs, Arkansas to Betty Fay Burk and adopted father, James William Burk. He grew up in Black Canyon City, Arizona and lived in Cottonwood, Arizona. He is survived by his mother, Betty Burk, his sister Rosa Thurber, and Brother William A. Burk.

Grizz, as known by his friends and family, joined the Army November 1972 and was honorably discharged December 1975. Grizz’s occupation was as a bouncer at Spirit Room, Cactus Kate’s, Chaparral, and other bars in the Verde Valley. He was also a hotshot driver for a lot of car dealers in the Verde Valley, Flagstaff and Winslow. Grizz, had a love for driving and he would deliver, pickup and haul anything all across the country. If he wasn’t driving deliveries, he could be found around here driving the DAV van getting Veterans to medical appointments where he earned pins for hundreds of hours and thousands of miles driven for Veterans. Aside from driving, he loved to prospect for gold. He was always getting dirt from various areas and searching for that one nugget. He had a love for teaching this to kids and adults to get them hooked on prospecting and panning for gold.

There will be no funeral services, but there will be a motorcycle memorial ride (all vehicles welcome) starting at 10:00 am. The Legion auxiliary will be serving breakfast sandwiches and coffee starting at 8:30. Celebration of Life to follow from noon to 3:00 pm, at the American Legion Post 25 in Cottonwood on Saturday, February 26.

All donations are to benefit the Cottonwood Humane Society in the name of Grizz and Meathead, his beloved dog. He has stated he wants his donation to pay the adoption fees for senior citizens.

Grizz was loved by many. M.