1922
2009
Services for Elmer James Burch, 87, of Killeen will be held 10am Monday December 21, 2009 at First Baptist Church Killeen. Mr. Burch passed away December 16, 2009 at his home.
Elmer Burch was raised and educated in Doe Run, Missouri. He was the next to the youngest child in a large family - sister Esther, and brothers Earl, Vernon, Russell, and Lee. He attended schools there and completed high school in Doe Run. He had an older brother, Chesley, and an older sister, Velma, who both died early in their childhood.
When the U.S. declared war in 1941, Mr. Burch was employed by Wagner Electric in St. Louis until entering the military. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944-1969 and retired as a Master Sergeant. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He served proudly with the 14th Armored Division in Europe during WWII as a tank commander. He is credited with saving his tank crew after a direct hit on his tank from an enemy tank during an engagement in Germany. He remained in the U. S. Army for 26 years, retiring at Fort Hood, Texas in December, 1968. He received numerous awards and medals related to his service.
After retiring from the military he was employed as the body shop foreman for Bay Long Olds until 1985. Mr. Burch was a resident of Killeen since 1963. He was an active member of First Baptist Church where he had taught Sunday School and served on various church committees.
Mr. Burch was preceded in death by his wife Elsie in 1993. Also preceding his death were the deaths of his sister Esther and brothers Earl and Vernon.
Elmer James Burch is survived by sons Mike Burch of Lubbock, and Matt Burch of Copperas Cove, daughters Elsie Spake of Deer Park, and Esther Janis of Pasadena, ten grandchildren, and fourteen great grandchildren. He has two surviving brothers, Russell, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Lee, of Jefferson City, Missouri.
Elmer loved to be outdoors. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. He maintained a nice backyard garden until the last few years, and always loved to have the grandchildren around to "help" with the garden. He enjoyed cracking and picking out pecans. He could often be found sitting in his easy chair picking out pecans while watching a ballgame. He packed the pecans in freezer bags and then gave them away to children and grandchildren and friends.
The family will receive visitors from 4-6pm Sunday December 20, 2009 at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home in Killeen.
Memorials may be made to the building fund of First Baptist Church Killeen or the Killeen Food Care Center.
Some of the comments made during the service foe Elmer included these:
Faithful: Elmer was faithful to his wife, his family, his friends, his country and his God. He could always be counted on for help and support in any situation, from a banged up fender to delivering his pecans at Christmas. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren always received a card with a bit of cash in it for any special occasion - a birthday, school starting, dance recital, or whatever special event that occurred. Great-grandchildren Kyndal and Candice could count on him to be at their house every Monday evening for dinner, and he would often bring them little gifts like Bluebell Ice Cream, and once a month or so, he would allow them to clean out his coin purse of all loose change for their piggy banks. His kitchen cabinets always displayed the latest drawing or color pages from great-grandchildren Tanner and Kyler. He faithfully loved and included all his family members, even those grandchildren who came to the family through second marriages. Granddaughter Jenny commented that "Pop" always treated her and her brother and sister - and their children - just like the other grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ken, his neighbor, commented that Elmer always had the right tool and advice for any project, and was generous to lend them. His Sunday School class recalled that Elmer often met them with a card and a pen and a "Sign this," for a sick class member.
Humble: Elmer was a humble man. He did not seek attention for himself. He performed services for friends, family, and church, and often went unrecognized. We recall the time it snowed in Killeen on a Saturday night, and Sunday morning, Elmer went to church early with a snow shovel and scraped the ice and snow away from the doors so the folks could get into church safely. No one asked him, and not many people knew he did this. In Isaiah, the Bible teaches us that God loves a humble and contrite spirit. That is certainly a fitting description of Elmer.
Generous: Despite his humble background, Elmer was a generous person. He always had a card for a sick friend. His birthday cards for family members were always on time - or probably early. All the family looked forward to the pecan season, so each family could get their bag of shelled pecans. Despite his living on retired Army pay and Social Security, he was able to pay off his mortgage early, and save a bit for the children and grandchildren. While never rich in today's monetary terms, he certainly was generous with what he had. And that makes him truly rich!
That's good: Invariably, when someone shared a bit of good news, Elmer would reply, "That's good." On those occasions when the news was not good - a fender-bender, or something similar, he might respond with a "That's no good." He remained a positive influence to his family and friends. His son, Mike, stated that he never heard anything ugly from his dad - no profanity, no negative or unkind remarks. And conversely, we never heard any negative comments about Elmer, either. In spite of his constantly stiff arthritic legs and feet, and his battle with diabetes, we never heard any complaints from him.
We will miss Dad, Pop, Grandpa, and Great-grandpa...but what a way to go! To sit down in your favorite chair and pass from this life of constant pain and suffering into eternity in the presence of God almighty because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
It is our prayer that anyone who might read this will know the peace that comes from knowing Jesus. If we could help you with that, please give any of us a call.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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Funeral services provided by:
Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home - Killeen1615 South Fort Hood Road, Killeen, TX 76542-1654
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