John Robert  BURGETT

When John Robert or J.R. Burgett was born on March 20, 1927, in Decatur, Illinois, his father, Clarence, was 37 and his mother, Clara, was 33. Robert was brought up going to church regularly at the Westminister Presbyterian Church in Decatur, IL. He went through early Christian training there and was the President of the Youth Group in high school.

J.R. was allowed to graduate high school early in March of 1945 so that he could go to the Navy and contribute in WWII. Everyone was very patriotic and nationalistic during the war. He trained at the Great Lakes Navy Yards in Chicago and was part of the Great Lakes Naval Chior there. He served on on LST in the Pacific and was in Japan after the end of the war. He missed the ship in San Diego so was reassigned to the LST. The ship he missed was later sunk.

After WWII he went to Millikin University for two years on the GI Bill. He majored in History and would have been a History teacher if allowed to finish. He was also a good artist and could draw Disney Characters very well. His Dad wanted him working on the farm. His oldest two sons became engineers and his youngest two sons Grandad wanted to farm. The Burgett's were all very smart and good business men.

Robert married Frances Adeline Foote on August 20, 1949, at a Presbyterian Church in Maywood, Illinois. They had two children during their marriage: Mary Virginia, July 30, 1950 and Robert Daniel, February 9, 1953. He taught us we were a spirit living in a body and pointed to Jesus as our savior. He taught us to plant seeds and how to garden. We children raised the vegetables for the table in the place in the yard where the barn had been before it burned down in the Summer of 1954. It was a fertile area with lots of potash in the soil.

Robert and Frances loved their friends and during their marriage spent wonderful times with them. Robert served on the Warrensburg-Latham School Board for 12 years from 1954 to 1966. He worked toward getting the Community College district formed in Decatur. He was a farmer all his life. He passed after a six months illness, on April 6, 1978, in his home at the age of 51, and was buried in Graceland Cemetary in Decatur. The cause of his death was a brain tumor.