By Bonnie V. Winston

The last time Marie Morton Hart of Richmond saw her grandnephew, Darryl Roman “DJ” Burt II, it was a joyous time.

“We had a family reunion last July at Andrews Air Force Base, and DJ flew in from his home in Jacksonville to surprise his mother,” the 79-year-old South Side resident said.

It was a special time for DJ and his parents, Darryl Burt, a military retiree who grew up in Richmond’s Church Hill, and his wife, Felicia Jackson Burt, who grew up in Amelia County.

This weekend, the Burt family will reunite — surrounded by a cadre of family and friends and uplifted by an outpouring of support — to bury DJ in Amelia County.

The 29-year-old Mr. Burt, an outgoing hard worker, community volunteer and financial aid officer at Keiser University in Florida, was killed in the June 12 deadly shooting rampage at an Orlando nightclub. He is among the 49 victims being mourned across the nation in the largest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Just hours before his death, Mr. Burt had walked across a stage — his happy family in the audience — to receive his master’s degree in human resources management and graduate certificate in business administration from Keller Graduate School of Management. Afterward, he had gone to Orlando with four friends to celebrate.

“He loved to dance,” Mrs. Hart said. “And his brother, Roger, who’s 20, would have been at the club with him but the family had an early flight out the next morning.

“It’s devastating for them,” she said. “They are going to bury him in his cap and gown.”

The close-knit family has ties still to Richmond and Amelia, where DJ would visit frequently with his family. In Richmond, he would attend First Baptist Church, South Richmond, led by Richmond’s mayor, the Rev. Dwight C. Jones. His grandmother on his mother’s side, the Rev. Marian R. Jackson, is associate pastor of Manassa Hill Baptist Church in Amelia Court House, where Mr. Burt will be buried.

The church is too small to hold the crowd expected for his funeral service. Instead, it will be held at noon Saturday, June 25, at Amelia County High School on Otterburn Road. The family will receive guests following the funeral at the Amelia County Veterans Center, 16440 Five Forks Road, in Amelia Court House.

Mr. Burt’s death has had a large impact in the small community about 35 miles southwest of Richmond. Paul Wilson, owner of V.Y. Scott Funeral Home in Amelia that is handling the arrangements, is a distant cousin.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook” at the funeral home, Mr. Wilson said, from concerned people everywhere. “The university in Jacksonville, where he was employed, is bringing a busload to the funeral,” he said.

With his father’s military career, the family made several moves, Mrs. Hart said, before settling in retirement in Avon, Ind.

Young Mr. Burt grew up in Georgetown, Ky., and later went to Plainfield High School outside of Indianapolis, where he was on the Academic Superbowl Team, and involved in several clubs and student government.

After graduating in 2005, he went to Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., where he sang with the university’s Male Chorus. Mr. Burt sang with the choir when it traveled to Richmond during a spring break to perform at Fifth Baptist Church on West Cary Street in the West End, Mrs. Hart said.

His death was announced at the church last Sunday by Pastor Ricardo L. Brown.

Even as a young man, Mr. Burt had a presence and charisma that made him successful in working with others. He was a manager of a McDonald’s restaurant at age 18 and later rose to become a district manager and training officer for the company’s Jacksonville, Fla., district.

At one point, he managed a Forever 21 clothing store in South Carolina, garnering praise from employees he encouraged and groomed along the way.

In his most recent work with Keiser University, Mr. Burt focused on helping veterans returning to college with financial aid and other supportive services.

“Darryl was a highly respected employee and friend, and his contributions to our students and his colleagues will not be forgotten,” said Kelli Lane, university vice chancellor.

In late 2015, he joined the Jacksonville Jaycees, a community service organization, where, in a few short months, he spearheaded a clothing drive for homeless families.

“Both socially and professionally, he was always interested in making a positive impact on people’s lives and in the community,” said Shawn DeVries, president of the Jacksonville organization.

When he went to Orlando to dance after earning his latest degree, no one expected they would be burying him soon, Mrs. Hart said. One of the friends he went with was wounded in the attack, she said. The others escaped.

“It’s just sad, sad,” Mrs. Hart said, adding the family is “trying to hold up” until the funeral Saturday.

Mr. Burt’s parents didn’t want to speak publicly yet about their son. 

“Please keep us lifted in your prayers,” his mother wrote on Facebook. “This is absolutely the hardest thing we’ve had to do. But we refuse to let the hatred of others steal the joy of our child. Our God is bigger.”