BURCK BAILEY

Burck Bailey was born on August 22, 1934, in Vinita, Oklahoma, to Frank and Frances (Burckhalter) Bailey, and died on November 18, 2021, at the age of 87. Upon graduation in 1952 from Vinita High School, where he was voted the outstanding member of the Senior class, Burck was awarded the Oklahoma Honor Scholarship by Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. After two years of Westminster, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army to qualify for the G.I. Bill to help finance his education. After completing two years of Army service stationed near Stuttgart, Germany, Burck returned to Westminster. In the second semester of his Junior year, he was selected for The Washington Semester program and attended American University in the District of Columbia. The experience fostered a lifelong interest in government and politics. Back at Westminster, Burck served as President of his fraternity and various other campus organizations, and graduated with Honors in 1958.

Burck was one of twenty men in the United States who received a Root-Tilden Scholarship to New York University School of Law, from which he graduated in 1961. He joined what was then the law firm of Morrison, Hecker, Cozad and Morrison in Kansas City, Missouri, where he began his professional career as a trial lawyer. After a year and half with the Morrison Firm, Burck accepted an offer to become an Assistant Attorney General of Oklahoma. He served in that office for three years and tried lawsuits on behalf of the State of Oklahoma in courts throughout the State. Thereafter, he joined the Oklahoma City law firm of Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey and Tippens and practiced as a trial lawyer until his retirement at the end of 2006.

His distinguished career included service as President of the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1988. He previously served as President of Oklahoma County Bar Association in 1983-1984. He received the Oklahoma Bar Association Professionalism Award in 1989. The citation read in part, “His conduct, honesty, integrity, and courtesy best exemplify and represent the highest standards of the legal profession.” Burck was later elected by his fellow lawyers to theOklahoma Judicial Nomination Commission and served as its Chairman in 2002-2003. He was a Fellow of both the American and the Oklahoma Bar Foundations, and served as member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates.

Burck was listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In the 2006 edition of Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers, his peers described him as “the best trial lawyer in the State, renowned for his marvelous integrity, a real gentleman.” Burck was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as State Chairman in 1993-1994. He was a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and served as State Chairman of that organization also.

Burck’s forensic skills extended beyond the trial courtroom and included extensive appellate practice. He presented oral arguments in State and Federal appellate courts around the country, including three appearances before the United State Supreme Court. He was one of the early inductees of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

In his professional career, Burck represented Oklahoma Governors of both political parties as well as the Oklahoma Legislature in various high profile cases, including the last impeachment to occur in Oklahoma. One of his U.S. Supreme Court appearances was on behalf of the City of Oklahoma City where he was successful in persuading the Court to reverse a large judgment against the City.

After retiring from the practice of law, Burck and his wife Sandra moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they were active in numerous civic organizations and enjoyed a wide circle of friends. They developed a close relationship with administration of the University of New Mexico School of Law and endowed the Burck and Sandra Bailey Scholarship in Law for the benefit of Native American, African American, and Hispanic students.

Burck had a keen interest in matters of the mind and tutored students in the public schools of Santa Fe. But he also led an adventurous life. In his sixtieth year, he climbed to the 20,000 foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. On his 74th birthday, he parachuted from an airplane flying at 10,000 feet. For many years, Burck was a weekend cowboy and participated in team roping contests in Oklahoma and surrounding states. He hiked, biked, and rode horses in the mountains of New Mexico well into his Eighties.

Burck’s unfailing spirit of optimism and good will would brighten even the darkest day. His intellect, energy, fair-mindedness, thoughtfulness, and exuberant personality were greatly appreciated by his friends and colleagues. Burck was an esteemed teacher and mentor. His was a life well lived.

Burck and Sandra led lives of love and devotion to one another. They loved travel, the out-of-doors, and creatures large and small. Burck is survived by Sandra, sons Blake and Aaron, daughter Kelli, and by six grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Kay Heiden of Mclean, Virginia.

The family will honor Burck’s request that there be no service.

Rivera Family Funerals and Cremations 417 East Rodeo Rd. Santa Fe, NM 87505 Phone: (505) 989-7032 riverafamilyfuneralhome.com