Mr Marvin LeRoy Burhenn

On a cold November day in 1941, in a secluded corner of Baca County, Colorado, a young couple, Vina Jewell Burhenn, only seventeen, and Marvin Everett, twenty-one, were anticipating the birth of their first child. On the eighth of that month, they traveled across the Kansas line to the town of Elkhart, and there welcomed Marvin LeRoy Burhenn, their first son, into their lives.

He wasn’t the reason World War II started, but he and his parents would be affected by it. Being farmers and ranchers with crops to tend, cattle to feed and milk, and pigs and chickens to care for, there wasn’t much spare time for other pursuits. None the less, in June of 1945, his father was drafted into the armed services to serve in the naval Seabees. By then Marvin had gained a brother Cecil Vern, born on May 20, 1944. Things were quite hectic while his parents shuttled from Colorado to Illinois, Rhode Island, California, and back until the war ended and his father was honorably discharged on February 7, 1946.

When things finally got back to normal, everyone had to pitch in with the work. Marvin had the usual farm chores and learned to milk cows when he was just six. Of course school came in to play at that age, and Marvin began attending school at Stonington, Colorado in a one-room school house, where he went for his first three years. Around this time Marvin gained another brother, Michael Terry, born May 21, 1950. A few months later, his dad’s youngest brother Charles Edward, who was eleven, came to live with the family. Six people living in a four-room house without running water, electricity, or indoor plumbing created some interesting challenges. Marvin and Charles slept in a wooden grain bin which was not insulated, heated, or cooled, until a cellar could be dug where there would be more livable temperatures. Eventually a wind charger producing thirty volt electricity and a water storage tank which used gravity to feed water into the house were added. The kids never knew they were poor because they were so rich in love, faith, and security. A few short years later, the family moved three quarters of a mile west to a larger house with all the amenities and where his parents lived until their passing.

Marvin finished his schooling from fourth grade until he graduated in 1959, at Walsh High School in Walsh, Colorado. From there he went to Draughon’s Business College in Amarillo, Texas, for a year and studied accounting. The following year he enrolled in Tennessee Temple College (TTC) in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and graduated five years later in 1965 with a double major in Bible and Psychology, working at night at McKee’s Bakery (Little Debbie cakes) to pay the bills.

It was at TTC that he met the love of his life, Darla Jean Eads. They were married in 1962 in Amelia, Ohio, Jean’s home town. Jean was able to graduate at the same time as Marvin, having obtained a degree in English. While they were still in college in Chattanooga, their first child Lee Daniel was born on December 5, 1963.

After college the family moved back to the farm in Walsh, Colorado, for a year to try farming. While there, Linda Denise was added to the family on April 27, 1966. Looking for better opportunities for his small family, Marvin moved his family to Thornton, Colorado, and took a job with International Harvester as a district accountant. While living there, they added Lisa Diane to their growing family on December 6, 1969, and Leroy Douglas on May 5, 1971. International Harvester moved the family from Thorton, Colorado, to Shawnee, Kansas, and then to Liberal, Kansas. When they suggested another move, Marvin had tired of the uncertainty and chose to return to the farm in Walsh, Colorado. They built a house on the site of the four-room house where he had started life as the old house had burned to the ground many years earlier.

After a year and a half farming, Marvin took the job as manager of the Bartlett Grain Elevator in Walsh. Over the next 28 years he was also very active at his home church the First Baptist Church of Walsh as Deacon, superintendent of the Sunday School, church treasurer and Sunday school teacher. He also served on the city council and as police commissioner of his home town of Walsh. During that time, his wife Jean taught high school in Springfield, Colorado. One of Marvin’s great joys was supporting his children’s school activities, especially sports; often driving great distances to be there in person. After all the kids had left home for college, they eventually moved from the house on the farm to a house in Walsh.

In 2004, Marvin and Jean decided together that it was time to retire so they packed up their belongings and moved to Leesburg, Florida. While in Florida Marvin continued his service as a Deacon and Sunday School teacher at Southpoint Baptist Church in Leesburg. Not long after their move, Marvin suffered a near fatal heart attack after playing a game of pickleball, but God had people present who were able to revive him. God wasn’t finished with him and graciously gave him another fourteen years after undergoing five bypasses. They lived in Leesburg for thirteen years until Marvin’s health compelled them to move to Graham, North Carolina, to be near their sons, Lee and Doug, where they were living when Marvin departed for Heaven.

Marvin was very athletic and loved sports. Wherever he lived and worked, he was active in bowling and horseshoe leagues. He was an avid Denver Broncos fan and enjoyed wearing the orange and blue team logo apparel. He suffered his final heart attack at a bowling alley doing what he loved.

He trusted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in 1951 and was baptized that year in April, simultaneously with his brother Cecil. Wherever Marvin lived, he was always faithful to and active in the churches they attended, serving as deacon, teacher, or wherever needed. He demonstrated his love for the Lord, His church, and His Word. He reared his children to know, love, and serve the Lord. His life was a quiet, vivid example of what it means to be a good and faithful servant. As his life verse was Micah 6:8 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” On the morning of September 20, 2018, “absent from the body, present with the Lord”, Marvin heard the words “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” He has joined those saved loved ones gone before and awaits those of us who remain, who know and love his Savior.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Epp and Margaret Webster and William and Josephine Burhenn; his parents, Marvin E. and Vina Jewell Burhenn; his uncle/brother, Charles, and brother Terry; many uncles, aunts, and cousins. He leaves to cherish his love and memory his wife Jean; his children, Lee Daniel and wife Michelle, Linda Denise and husband Terry Portis, Lisa Diane and husband Jeff Cohea, and Leroy Douglas; his brother Cecil and wife Carol; sisters-in-law Jacqulyn (Charles) and Marlene (Terry); uncle, Richard Webster; aunt, Edna Mae Herron; grandchildren: Seth Burhenn and wife Megan, Krista Burhenn, Kyersten and husband Khris Brenneman, Christopher Portis, Ethan and Evan Cohea; one great-grandchild Samantha Jean Brenneman; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, September 23, 2018 at the Rich and Thompson Chapel in Graham with Pastor David Jackson and Rev. Cecil V. Burhenn officiating.  The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the funeral home. 

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