After 50 years of marriage, the wedding vow, “Til death do us part” was manifested for Pastor Bill Burnett when his wife took her last breath and stepped into the presence of God.

Pastor Denise Lorne Burnett, 70, died on May 20 after being hospitalized while battling an illness, her family said.

A Celebration of Life service for Denise is scheduled at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 at New Life Chapel, 10184 Seventh Avenue in Hesperia.

After her death, her husband called out to the Lord, saying, “This is beyond my ability to understand. What once was clear is now foggy. Where I was once full of direction, I now see cloudy.”

Bill also shared his full dependence on God and confessing that his tears are random, as they come “any time, any place. They come during the night and they come during the day.”

He also prayed that in his grief, he is asking for God to sustain and hold him, and to “be a light, even during the darkest of days.”

Denise was born in Lynwood, California to Dean and Ruth King on March 10, 1954. She grew up in the nearby city of Southgate with her siblings.

Falling in love

Denise accepted Jesus Christ as Lord at an early age. At 16, she attended church with her family and met the love of her life, Bill.

“The first time I saw her was at church one Sunday morning,” Bill said. “I was on the platform with our church choir when her family walked in and sat in the front row, the only seats open. I turned to my best friend and bet him that I could get a date with her before he did. I won the bet.”

The couple dated for a few years, and at the age of 19, they married on June 2, 1973.

“The rent on our first apartment was $70 a month,” Bill said. “It costs 15 cents for a frozen chicken pot pie. The average gas price was 39 cents per gallon. We had to count every penny to survive.”

Bill said in many ways, he and Densie had opposing tastes, attitudes and mindsets

“Yet, with all those differences, we loved each other and made it work,” Bill said. “The thing that held us together more than anything was our faith in God.”

Entering ministry, having children

Denise attended Azusa Pacific College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Christian education, while Bill attended LIFE Bible College in Los Angeles.

After the couple graduated, they became youth pastors at Trinity Christian Center in Lynwood.

After their first daughter, Michelle, was born, the couple were asked to pastor the Bremerton Foursquare Church in Bremerton, Washington, where they served for almost seven years.

During that time, their second daughter, Erin, was born.

Bill and Denise later moved to El Cajon, California as assistant pastors, and then moved to Costa Mesa, California as senior pastors of Mesa Bible Chapel. They were there for four years until a call came from their home church Trinity Christian Center, now in Artesia, to serve as assistant pastors with Bill‘s parents, Bill and Carol Burnett.

They soon became the senior pastors at Trinity and served for seven years in that capacity. In 2000, they accepted the position of senior pastors at New Life Chapel in Hesperia.

Seeking God’s approval

“Denise never desired ministry in front of people. She was most influential by serving behind the scenes. She didn’t see the approval of people, but the approval of God,” her family said.

Denise’s kindness, her smile and her loving heart touched and attracted everyone she met. She always made everyone feel like they were the most important person around, those close to her said.

She was never in a hurry when it came to listening to people. She was always the last person to leave any event, making sure she loved on every person she could.

She loved God with all her heart and was always asking how she could most glorify God. Even in the hospital, she would often say I want to bring glory to God through all this.

Family comes first

Denise’s first priority was always with her family. She especially loved each of them and would do anything for them.

Denise is survived by her husband, Bill, her daughter Michelle, and her husband Gary along with her two sons, Kyle and Josiah.

Also, her daughter, Erin, and her husband, Jose, and their two children Caleb and Cassidy.

She is also survived by her sister, Cynthia, and her husband, Dave; her uncle, Sam King, and multiple other family members.

She’s preceded in death by her parents, Dean and Ruth King, her brother, Stan King, and her grandson, Jonathan Marian.

“She lives behind a strong legacy of walking with God with all her soul and mine,” her family said.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Pastor Denise Lorne Burnett of Hesperia to be remembered