Oliva “Bo” Penn Chiefly SunRhodes Burton
February 28, 1939 – July 10, 2025
Oliva SunRhodes Burton, 86, of Ethete, Wyoming, passed away peacefully on July 10, 2025, at her home.
A Traditional service with viewing and visitation will be Friday, July 18, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Blue Sky Hall in Ethete, Wyoming. The wake will follow at 218 Willow Street Ethete, Wyoming. Traditional funeral service will be 9:00 a.m. at the family home followed by burial at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at the Sage-Redman Cemetery in Ethete, Wyoming.
Born in Fort Washakie, Wyoming, to James Chiefly and Elizabeth Friday Penn, Oliva was lovingly raised by Ernest and Ruth (Friday) SunRhodes. She grew up on the Wind River Reservation and graduated from St. Stephen’s High School. She continued her education at Haskell Institute, earning an associate degree in Interior Design.
After college, Oliva moved to Los Angeles, California, where she met her future husband, Allison Burton, while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. In 1963 the couple married and later settled in Parker, Arizona, on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation, where they raised five children and built a life rooted in love, culture, and community.
Oliva was actively involved in her children’s lives and was a Boy Scout Den Mother. She worked for over 25 years with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, at the “Cow Palace” daycare center and CRIT landfill. She also worked as a janitress/transporter for IHS.
She found joy in nature, especially time spent with family and friends along the Colorado River. She also found joy in bingo and making handmade shawls. In 2006, she returned to the Wind River Reservation and her roots. Her warmth, creativity, and unwavering devotion to her family will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.
Oliva is survived by her sons, Ronald Harold Burton Sr. and Timothy Darell Burton; her daughters, Sharon Ranee Burton and twins Paulette Maria Burton and Pauline Marie Burton; numerous grandchildren; great-grandchildren; and the loving families of SunRhodes, Smith, Eagle Staff, Underwood, Gambler, Lonedog, Addison, White Antelope, Booths, and Virgil SunRhodes family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, James Chiefly and Elizabeth Friday Penn; her adoptive parents, Ernest and Ruth SunRhodes; and her beloved husband, Allison Burton.
Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.TheDavisFuneralHome.com
Services are under the direction of Davis Funeral Home, Crematory, and Monuments of Riverton, Wyoming.