Leo Rigel Taylor Burton was born on July 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California, and was enrolled in the the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 and 1934. He served in Company 1921, a veterans company, on Project F-33 at Wolf Creek Camp in Roseburg, Oregon, as well as at the Skinner Butte Camp for the Headquarters Detachment in Eugene. Following his service in the CCC, Burton spent approximately ten years in Hawaii as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before returning to live in the Eugene area. He participated in both the American Legion and the Veterans of World War I. Burton was a photography and stamp collecting enthusiast and was active in the Greater Eugene Stamp Society and Eugene Camera Club. He married Viola Belle Olson in 1941. Burton died in Lane County, Oregon on October 28, 1989.

Sources: Marriage announcement, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, August 14, 1941; "'Greater Stamp Society' Now Active in Eugene," The Eugene Guard, February 12, 1950; "Veterans Set Coastal Meet," (Salem) Capitol Journal, June 4, 1974; "Eugene Camera Club Lists Snapshot Contest Winners," The Eugene Guard, July 20, 1951; "American Legion Activities," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 3, 1944; "Around the Town - Natural History Society," The Eugene Guard, January 23, 1952; information from catalog records provided by the Benton County Historical Society.