Obituary of William Wade Burrow

Mr. William "Wade" Burrow, 85, of Avondale, Arizona died March 4, 2022. He was born January 23, 1937 in Hamilton, Alabama to William Burrow and Madie Parmer. Wade was born in Hamilton Alabama, but grew up as the middle child in Tupelo, Mississippi. His family attended The Southern Baptist church in Tupelo. He was so proud that he and his brothers grew up with Elvis Presley. They were all neighborhood friends. Until the Presley family moved to Memphis, and we all know how well that worked out for them!Wade served four years in the Air Force, spent time in Japan. He had visited family in Colorado Springs and decided that's where he wanted to live. When he left the service, he made The Springs his home. He went to work for Safeway Stores, Inc. In 1961, he met a beautiful blonde name Jan and convinced her he was the "one"! They married May 27, 1962. Jan also began working for Safeway. We were a Safeway family! Wade also sold real-estate in his "spare" time.He also enjoyed photography; wade shot many, many weddings. In 1986 he opened J&W One Hour Photo Shop, where he had a studio and took thousands of family portraits.Wade also did photography for The Blackwood Brother's Quartet, a gospel group. Jan and Wade traveled the world with the Blackwood's. Dad always had plenty of cameras and film!When Wade retired from Safeway after thirty-eight years, Jan retired with thirty-five years, they traveled the country in their RV. Wade enjoyed his RV so much! He loved to take the back roads, even though some of those roads weren't meant for large vehicles! Mom just closed her eyes and prayed! They never passed up a Cracker Barrel when they traveled. He would stop even if he wasn't hungry. They had great time out there, even drove that thing to Alaska! Then cruised back to Seattle RV and all! Mom says that was the trip of a lifetime!Eventually Jan and Wade settled in Arizona to be closer to their kids and grandkids. They landed in Casa Grande first to enjoy golfing, swimming, and all the other fun things to do in the sun! Wade also took up painting, he studied with Bob Ross and painted many beautiful landscapes! Wade's favorite thing to cook was his southern style coconut cake. It's the only thing he ever cooked, it was delish!They moved to Avondale in 2018 to be closer to their daughters as they needed a lil' help here and there.We made many wonderful memories! Dad was loved by all his kids and grandkids so much! He is dearly missed.We are all thankful he is in Heaven! His faith has always been strong and we know the Lord has a special place for him, probably in a brand new RV!Wade is survived by his wife of fifty-nine years, Janice Lenor (Tesmer) Burrow; daughters, Lisa (Trey) Neill, Rebecca (Andy) Garcia, and Michelle (Randy) Szmanesky; sisters-in-law, Louise Burrow of Tupelo, Mississippi and Bernie Taylor; and brother-in-law, Gil Taylor of Goodland, Kansas. He is also survived by six grandchildren, Michael (Kristina) Gatewood, Steven Anthony Michael, Daniel (Cheyenne) Gatewood, Joshua Alvarado, Sabrina (Grant) Nichols, and Kristy Garcia; four great-grandchildren, Landon Alvarado, Zayden Alvarado, Paisley Gatewood, and Matthew Nichols; along with several other nieces and nephews.Wade was preceded in death by his mother, Madie Parmer Carroll; father, William Burrow; step-father, Robert Jake Carroll; brothers, Truett Burrow and Earl Burrow; sister-in-law, Pat Burrow; mother and father-in-law, Ben and Amy Tesmer; brother and sister-in-law, Dave and Loretta Fleming; nephew, Wayne Steffes; and great-granddaughter, Hannah Grace Nichols.The family wishes to send a special "thank you" to George Hair at Eternity Hospice and to Fred Arroya and Anita at Premier Group Home of Avondale.In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Jude Hospital or Disabled Veterans of America.�Graveside Service, 3:00PM, Monday, March 14, 2022, Evergreen Cemetery, 1005 Hancock Expressway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. Events Graveside Monday, March 14, 2022 3:00PM Evergreen Cemetery 1005 Hancock Expressway Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Phone: 719-578-6646 Final Resting Place Evergreen Cemetery 1005 Hancock Expressway Colorado Springs, CO 80903