Lloyd E. Burton, a professor emeritus from the UA who developed a life-saving cure for oleander poisoning, died May 17 at his home. He was 74.

"He died of old age. He passed away very peacefully." said Dr. Wadie Kamel, MPH program coordinator at the Rural Managed Care Center at the UA.

"He was outstandingly dedicated and loyal to his students, the university and its alumni," Kamel said.

Burton received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from the University of Arizona. He then taught at the UA and later served as administrator of allied health sciences at the Arizona Health Sciences Center and finally as professor emeritus.

"The most forth-running thing he did on campus was incorporating first aid classes where students were be certified with the Red Cross," said Howard Eng, director of Southwest Border Health Research and a former student of Burton in the 1970s.

Burton launched the first graduate public health courses at the College of Pharmacy in the late 1960s. He introduced advanced public health training with the first aid classes and public courses

Burton was on the National Board of Directors of the American Public Health Association, chaired the Tucson chapter of the American Red Cross and was on the Board of Directors of Catalina Methodist Church.

He is survived by his wife, Chio; daughters Barbara of Kerrville, Texas, and Linda Pietrangelo of Las Vegas; sons Scott of Kona, Hawaii, and Lloyd Jr. of Denver.

-Melanie Klein