Retired Army Colonel dies in San Antonio

When Col. Roy W. Burley Sr,. an Army veteran of three wars, came home to San Antonio to retire, he got to work.

He became director of personnel at USAA and later helped establish job training programs on the East Side. And when Lutheran General Hospital closed on the West Side in 1991, Burley was a key player in the creation of the Texas Diabetes Institute, earning him a place on the institute's Wall of Honor. And he was chief of staff for two state legislators.

“What drove him was his love of family, being a native San Antonian and making things right for a community that was ignored and discriminated against and giving a voice to those who had been denied a voice when he was a boy,” former daughter-in-law Jeylynne Burley said.

Burley died April 20 of heart complications. He was 93.

“He became the compassionate person he was because he lived in an extended family of women; grandmother, mother, and great-grandmother,” Jeylynne said.

Burley, an outstanding student, was a member of ROTC at Phyllis Wheatly High School. After graduating in 1940, he went to Prairie View A&M University. World War II was raging, and he went into the Enlisted Reserve Corps.

He met his future wife, Lillian Snow, when he returned from college for a high school football game. She was a drum major leading the opposing team's band. “He told people, that is going to be my wife,” Nan Richie recalled.

In May 1943, Burley was called to active duty in the Army.

Because Burley's military test scores were high, he was one of only 350 African American soldiers chosen for a specialized training program at Howard University in Washington. The students became a close-knit group calling themselves the Prometheans. They would have reunions for the next 51 years.

Later, Burley went on to earn a bachelor's in industrial education from Prairie View A&M and a bachelor's in education from the University of Nebraska.

Burley became a second lieutenant in December 1944 and started his 72-year marriage with Snow three months later. They had four children.

During his three decades of military service, Burley graduated from the Command and General Staff and the U.S. Army War colleges. He served as platoon leader in the 372nd Infantry during WWII, and during the Korean conflict, he was with the 9th Infantry Regiment. He was highly recognized for his service in Vietnam,where he was a senior military advisor for the Gia Din Province.

Burley's career included being senior operations advisor to the Royal Thai Army and serving in high-level staff positions with the Department of the Army. He retired in 1973 at Fort Sam Houston after serving as chief of the ROTC Division Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army.

During Burley's time with the military, the family was stationed in Germany, the Philippines and in Thailand as well as numerous posts in the United States.

“It was a great adventure,” Richie said, of the family's time in Thailand. “Our neighbor was related to the queen of Bangok and she had elaborate dinners. We lived like royalty. I remember having friends from all over the world.

“Those opportunities, to experience all of that, as an African American family is notable and special.”

Richie said her father was a skilled negotiator with extensive contacts and had “a real good sense of humor.” And he was a strong believer in getting a college degree.

“He always talked about education,” Richie recalled. “Get that piece of paper and don't sweat the small stuff.”