Harry Lee Burdette

AIKEN, SC – HARRY LEE BURDETTE, 86, beloved husband of Alice Nelson Burdette, died Friday, October 17, 2008 at the Medical College of Georgia. A native of Orange, VA, Mr. Burdette was a son of the late Joseph Aiken and Naomi Faye Goodwin Burdette. He was a pilot and 1st Lt. in the Army Air Corps during World War II and was shot down by German fighters on November 26, 1943. He was a Prisoner of War for 18 months and was imprisoned in Stalag Luft I. He later rose to the rank of Major in the Reserves. Harry was a retired area supervisor with E. I. DuPont at the Savannah River Plant. He was a longtime member of St. John’s United Methodist Church, where he was very active with the Fellowship Sunday School Class and the United Methodist Men, and a volunteer with the Salkehatchie Summer Youth Service. He also worked as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Harry was a former coach and umpire with the City of Aiken Recreation Department. He served of the boards of the Aiken Area Council on Aging and SRP Credit Union, and was a charter member of the Carolina Square and Round Dance Club. He was an avid golfer and was a member of the Midland Valley Country Club. Survivors, in addition to his beloved wife, Alice, include three sons, Wayne Lee (Barbara) Burdette, Niceville, FL, Richard Grayson (Kim) Burdette, San Antonio, TX, and Lawrence Bruce (Leslie) Burdette, Aiken, nine grandchildren, Jason Todd Burdette, Christopher Burdette, Gabrielle Burdette, Stuart Burdette, Amy Lee Burdette, Brooke Burdette, Cameron Burdette, Stephanie Hays and Shawn Jenses, five great-grandchildren, Halie, Calie and Tairen Burdette, Blair Wood and Eleanor Burdette, two brothers, Allen Burdette, Barboursville, WV and Robert C. Burdette, Cedar Grove, WV and a sister, Geraldine Jackson, Charleston, WV. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM Monday at St. John’s United Methodist Church, following the interment with military honors at 10:00 AM in Sunset Memory Gardens. The Rev. Dr. George K. Howle will officiate. Honorary Pallbearers will be members of the Fellowship Sunday School Class and the United Methodist Men. Memorial contributions may be directed to St. John’s United Methodist Church Debt Retirement Fund, P.O. Box 809, Aiken, SC 29802. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 PM Sunday at Shellhouse – Rivers Funeral Home, 715 East Pine Log Rd., Aiken, SC To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Harry Lee Burdette, please visit our flower store.