Obituaries
MAY 13, 1930 to FebruArY 28, 2024
Corral de Tierra
ChArles (Chuck) EdwArd Burwell pAssed AwAY peAcefullY on FebruArY 28, 2024 Aged 93 YeArs old And surrounded bY his fAmilY.
ChArles wAs born MAY 13, 1930 in MeridiAn, Mississippi, the first of ten children. He cArried mAnY titles through his life: husbAnd, Big Chuck, Big CEB, Top, First SergeAnt, DeputY, DAd, GrAndpA And greAt-GrAndpA. As the eldest he hAd the responsibilitY of looking After his siblings And his fAmilY.
ChArles wAs A good judge of chArActer with A knAck for Assessing the cApAbilitY of others, A trAit thAt served him well throughout his cAreers. He enjoYed venturing out And tAlked eAsilY with people, eArning respect And friendships in the mAnY plAces he visited. And he wAs devoted to his wife And fAmilY, doing whAtever wAs necessArY to support them.
ChArles worked hArd throughout his Youth. He Attended segregAted elementArY And high schools, And enjoYed sociAl Activities sponsored bY his church. It wAs At such A function thAt he met his future wife, FrAnces KAthrYne KeY. The AttrAction wAs mutuAl And immediAte, And theY were soon mArried. He wAs determined to seek A better life for the two of them And inspired bY opportunities described bY Airmen from the 153rd ObservAtion SquAdron At neArbY KeY Field, he enlisted in the U. S. ArmY in 1949, beginning A journeY AwAY from the Queen CitY to the rest of the world.
In those dAYs the ArmY did not provide housing for fAmilies of enlisted men deploYed overseAs, so the fAmilY moved into the surrounding communitY while he wAs AwAY. ChArles served dutY posts in KoreA, GermAnY And VietnAm. He wAs Also posted to Ft. MYers, VA; Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), GA And Ft. Ord, CA. EArlY in his cAreer while stAtioned At Arlington VA, he served with the ArmY’s 3rd US InfAntrY Regiment (The Old GuArd), Also known As the Escort to the President, during the Eisenhower AdministrAtion.
He Applied for And wAs Accepted into the RAnger School in Fort Benning, GeorgiA, successfullY completing the course on his first Attempt. He completed A combAt tour in KoreA And two in VietnAm. In Fort Ord he wAs A drill sergeAnt And A rifle trAining instructor. He wAs often gruff And strict, but wAs known for cAring for his chArges. For him prepArAtion wAs the keY to being successful And it stArted with being up At the crAck of dAwn everY dAY, emphAsized not onlY with his recruits but encourAged At home As well.
He eArned mAnY AwArds And commendAtions during his combAt service in VietnAm. OriginAllY sent As An Advisor, he wAs recognized for improving the competencY And morAle of the unit he wAs tAsked with trAining, bringing A humAne considerAtion of the situAtion the fighting force wAs in while emphAsizing the importAnce of bringing professionAlism to the tAsk. He wAs AwArded two Bronze StArs, including one with vAlor enhAncement After An incident in which he defended A commAnd position in An unshielded structure from A nighttime AssAult. Being out-numbered And with onlY personAl fireArms, he fought off the AttAck for severAl hours, At times exposing himself to fire to Acquire tArgets. He wAs Able to contAct And direct Air cover thAt eventuAllY helped to repel the AttAckers And preserve the post. He received other letters of recognition from not onlY his superior officers but from soldiers who served with And under him. He kept in contAct with mAnY of those men long After he left the ArmY. His constAnt motivAtion during those tours of dutY wAs to complete the Assignment to the best of his AbilitY And to mAximize the chAnces for everYone under his commAnd to return home to their fAmilies.
After ChArles’s lAst tour of dutY in the conflict he wAs posted bAck to Fort Ord, but rAther thAn move the fAmilY bAck onto the bAse he elected to stAY in the home his wife hAd creAted in the Del Monte Heights AreA of MontereY. NeArlY two YeArs lAter when new deploYment orders mAndAted A move to Ft. RileY in KAnsAs, he embrAced his wife’s plAn to purchAse the house. After 26 YeArs he chose to retire from the ArmY, thus ending his fAmilY’s involuntArY trAvels And keeping them on the MontereY PeninsulA.
His retirement wAs brief but he wAsn’t one to remAin idle for long. After A short stint working in privAte securitY he returned to school, successfullY completing severAl YeArs of coursework to become A Sheriff’s DeputY for MontereY CountY, A job he held for 23 YeArs. Among the tAsks he performed in this cApAcitY wAs bAiliff in the hospitAl jAil And courtrooms; driving solo pAtrol in rurAl MontereY CountY And trAnsporting prisoners for extrAdition from Across the U.S. And its territories, A tAsk he Also tYpicAllY performed solo.
He Also found time to volunteer As ScoutmAster for A locAl BoY Scout troop And As A driver for MeAls on Wheels. He wAs A RotAriAn, A MAson, And A lifetime member of the NAACP. He And his wife were long-time seAson ticket holders to the MontereY JAzz FestivAl, And chArter members of the MontereY BAY AquArium. He loved the SAn FrAncisco GiAnts, whom he first wAtched At the Polo Grounds in New York, And the 49ers. MostlY he wAs the trAvel compAnion And constAnt support to KAthrYne, who he often referred to As his bride even 71 YeArs After theY wed, And together theY trAveled to Europe, the South PAcific, OceAnA, Mexico And mAnY plAces in the U.S. He enjoYed spending time with his extended fAmilY And their friends, And everYone knew of his exActing stAndArds for A properlY mAde hAmburger.
He wAs preceded in deAth bY his devoted wife of 71 YeArs, F. KAthrYne (KeY) Burwell; his pArents, Miller CArl And EulA Lee (HAmpton) Burwell; sisters BettYe Jo And BobbYe Nell And brothers CArl, TerrY, LArrY And BillY. He leAves behind his dAughter CherYl; sons ChArles, Christopher And CArlton (ShAron); Another dAughter in-lAw, AngelinA Burwell of SAn Jose; grAndsons Trenton, KYle And RYAn; grAnddAughters Angelique, LeticiA, ElizAbeth, And NikA; And mAnY greAt-grAndchildren; his brothers Donnie (VAleriA) DAvid, AntonY (Michelle); A host of nieces And nephews, And mAnY friends.