Member
Born: 17 Sep 1922
Died: 12 Mar 2011 Montgomery, Alabama
Wife: Barbara M. Burleson
Ashes Scattered: Destin, Florida
Service Info: US Marine Corps | WWII Veteran
Wiliam D. Burleson, 88, passed away peacefully in the knowledge of salvation and a healthy after-life at 11:00 AM on March 12, 2011. He was preceded in death by Barbara M. Burleson, his wife of 58 years, and brother Raymond and Carlton is survived by his sister, Sister Christopher Marie Burleson of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Convent, St. Augustine, FL ,son Bruce D. Burleson (Debbie) of Prattville, AL, and Grandson, John Burleson (Kindal) of Madison, AL. He will be missed by numerous close friends throughout the country but none more than Clarence and Judy Peckham of Destin, FL.
Born September 17, 1922, Bill lived a full and rich life and touched the lives of many others in his life time. He was born in Pensacola, FL, The son Carl Burleson and Ida Destin Burleson. Bill was the maternal great grandson of Captain Leonard Destin, the first settler and founder of Destin, FL circa 1840. He was later raised in Tampa and Jacksonville, FL where he worked for J. C. Penney Company until his retirement in 1973 when he and his wife moved to Destin, Florida. They moved to Montgomery, AL in 1999 to be closer to their son and his family and resided at 3949 Fairfield Dr., Montgomery until their passing.
Seven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, HI, Bill joined the U.S Marine Corps where he served with honor in the island battles for Iwo Jima, Saipan, and Tinian. At war’s end, he served as part of the U.S occupation forces in Sasebo, Japan. After a brief stateside assignment at Wood’s Hole Navyard in Boston, MA, he met his one and only true love and wed shortly after his honorable discharge in 1946.
Throughout his life, he spent incalculable hours in service to his communities through various individual acts of kindness and more organized efforts through his membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Marine Corps League and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He had also been active in his son’s school support organizations in Jacksonville, FL and the Jacksonville Display Guild.
Though he never spoke of his wartime experiences, he was always most proud of his service to country as a U. S. Marine. He shunned personal glory or recognition but the service to country since 1945 far out weighed his wartime service and it is that for which he will be remembered and revered most. Semper fi, Marine! May God bless you as richly as you deserve. Another Marine reporting, Sir, I’ve served my time……
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on the Atlanta Highway, Montgomery at 11:00, Saturday March 19th. His ashes will be scattered in the bay of his ancestral home in Destin, FL shortly thereafter.
Published in the Montgomery Advertiser on Mar. 16, 2011
