Obituary:
SYRACUSE - Leon N. Burkhart, 91, a former Syracuse
resident, died Saturday, March 13, 2004, at his home in
Green Valley, Ariz.
He was born May 25, 1912, at Kinsley, to Isadore H. and
Mary G. Oster Burkhart. He attended a country school, Saints
Peter and Paul Catholic School, north of Kinsley.
On Feb. 9, 1939, he married Pearl A. King at Kinsley. In
1946, they began farming in the Syracuse area and moved
there in 1950. He grew certified wheat and was a cattle feeder
and also had worked as a crop/hail insurance agent and
adjuster. After retiring in 1979, they resided in Syracuse until
moving to Green Valley on April 16, 2003, to be closer to their
children.
Mr. Burkhart had served as the mayor of Syracuse for two
terms, 1967 and 1969, was a member of St. Raphael Catholic
Church in Syracuse, was a fourth degree knight in the Knights
of Columbus and was president of the Syracuse Rotary in 1972.
He enjoyed woodworking and, after retiring, took up golfing and
enjoyed visiting foreign countries and traveling throughout the
United States.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Richard L. Burk-
hart of LaQuinta, Calif.; a daughter, LaVerna K. Hill of Green Valley;
three brothers, Isadore J. Burkhart of Denver, Paul J. Burkhart of
Syracuse, and Elred E. Burkhart of Kinsley; a sister, Monica
Reilley of Garden City; seven grandchildren; and 19 great-grand-
children. He was preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters,
Gertrude Shobe and Mary Celesta Burkhart.
Rosary will be 7 p.m. MST Friday at St. Raphael Catholic Church,
Syracuse. Funeral Mass will be 10 a.m. MST Saturday at the church,
followed by burial at Syracuse Cemetery.Visitation hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST Friday at Greene-Fellers Funeral Home & Monuments, Syracuse. Memorials to the Leon Burkhart Memorial Fund may be sent in care of the funeral home, Box 1253, Syracuse, KS 67878.
Living in Denver, Colorado in 2004.