Elijah Burt

Elijah Cecil “Michael” Burt III, age 83, passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 20, 2026 in Salt Lake City while on a road trip with his husband. He was born 3 months premature on September 14, 1942 to Elijah Hayes Burt II and Anna Louise Morgan. After spending 3 months in the hospital, he was taken home by his Grandmother Julia Elizabeth Burt, who raised him until her death when he was 14. After his Grandmother’s death, he was raised by his Aunt Georgia Burt. In his youth, he attended Catholic elementary and an all boys Catholic high school. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Air Force, where he served from 1960 to 1964 with a tour in Vietnam. On his return in 1964, he spent a year with his mother in Chicago where he worked at the Chicago Board of Trade.

After spending a year in Chicago, he moved to San Francisco where he worked various jobs including International Harvester. He and his partner at the time moved to San Diego for a period before moving back to San Francisco where he eventually worked at Datagraphics creating microfiche, which eventually led to computer programming.

He met his husband Tom Prichard in the summer of 1977 in San Francisco (married in 2015). They moved to San Diego later that year. They subsequently lived in Falls Church, VA and Port Hueneme, CA before settling back in San Diego. Over the years he worked for various companies including Micrographics, U.S. Customs, Unisys and Wellmark. He retired at the age of 50 after suffering a heart attack while on a cruise in Greece and subsequently having a triple bypass.

He enjoyed travelling, cooking, photography, reading, watching movies and keeping up on current events. He had the opportunity to travel worldwide over the years with his husband including Europe, U.K., Australia, China, Hong Kong, Tahiti, Bora Bora. He also enjoyed travelling to Mexico and Hawaii.

Besides his husband of 49 years and beloved dogs Bella and Winslow, he is survived by sisters Celestial Kolheim-Smith, Barbara Godwin (Jimmy) and Pamela Burt, step mother Fannie Burt, as well as many beloved cousins and relatives. He was preceded in death by his Grandmother, both parents, and sister Melody Slay.