Jeweleen Lee Burton

Jeweleen Lee Nelson Burton, known as “Julie” by all, passed away at sunrise on December 20, 2020, in the Burton family home in Austin, Texas. Julie was born on September 1, 1936, in Houston, Texas. Her loving mother Carleen Deeg Bourgeois and stepfather Chester Bourgeois, Sr., have preceded her in death.

Julie married the love of her life, Douglas B. Burton, Jr., in 1954 and settled into a home on the north side of Austin in the early 1960’s. She was the witness to many of Doug’s pranks, antics, and his biggest musical fan. She is survived by her children, Dana Burton, Jamie Burton Wheeless, and Douglas B. Burton, III (known as Doug by most). They recall her varied taste in music (Hank Williams, Hall & Oates, and Bo Bice to name a few) and her ability to play the piano by ear and to sing like Janis Joplin (when no one was watching).

In the 1970’s, Julie and her husband Doug took over the family printing and reprographics business, Burton Duplicating, founded in 1952 by Doug’s parents. Eventually they renamed it to D&J Blueline, which was fitting given that everyone in the immediate family had a name that started with either ‘D’ or ‘J’. Julie and Doug worked tirelessly for architects, engineers, and contractors in the Central Texas area, making blueprint reproductions for houses, buildings, bridges and roadways throughout Texas. They found comfort in work, raised a fat cat named Franco at the shop, and enjoyed breakfast tacos every Friday from local eateries like Las Manitas and Juan in a Million. After Doug’s passing in 1992, Julie, Dana and Doug successfully ran the family business for another 22 years before choosing to close the company in 2014. The family trio provided a place to work for grandkids, extended family, friends, artists, college students and everyone in between.

Julie devoted her life to her family and reinforced their faith in God. She encouraged her son, Doug, to pursue an electronics degree. He lived with her until her final moments in this world and never missed an evening hug from his mother. She meant everything to her children.

Julie had many friends. She was known for good conversation, taking time for someone in need, and always saying, “I am so glad you came by”. To paraphrase the words of a close friend of Julie’s of more than 25 years, “she was small in size, but cast a shadow of wisdom of someone 10 feet tall”. Every year, around Thanksgiving, Julie opened the doors of the Burton family home and invited many of her friends in to share a grand potluck meal and good company. The flavorful spread at those potlucks is a thing of legend amongst her friends. Julie’s wisdom and her parties will be missed.

Late in life, Julie became a fan of the American Idol performer, Bo Bice. She and her children attended his concerts around the country to see him perform. On her 82nd birthday, her children surprised her with a personal Bo Bice appearance and performance at her party. She was so taken aback that she refused to believe it was him and asked to see his identification before she would let him perform.

She is loved by many and will be especially missed by her family. She was steady, full of wisdom, always had such a beautiful smile, and was known to offer a cuddly teddy bear for her grandchildren to hold: Thomas Tucker Wheeless, Ann E. Gallagher, Jeremy Wheeless, J. Siobhan Wheeless Wilson, Karen Wheeless Brown, Cullen Wheeless and 14 great‐grandchildren.

She always had a little something around the house in need of repair for her sons‐in‐law, Thomas (Tommy) Wheeless and Rodney Roach, to hammer on. The family takes great comfort in the knowledge

that Julie is no longer suffering from illness, reunited with her loved ones who passed on before, and cradled in the everlasting arms of our God.

Visitation will be at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas, 78705 on Sunday, December 27, 2020, beginning at 1:00 p.m. with the rosary being held at 2:00 p.m. The funeral mass will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 28, 2020, at Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church, located at 12041 Bittern Hollow in Austin, Texas 78758, with livestream on the church website. Burial to follow at Assumption Cemetery, 1250 S. Interstate 35 Frontage Rd, Austin, Texas 78704. All events will be conducted in congruence with local restrictions related to the ongoing pandemic.