Obituary of Burch Billy Pendley

Billy Pendley Burch was born on Jan 12, 1918 in East St Louis, Ill and died on Dec 7, 2008 at home with family in Lebanon, Tn. He was preceded in death by his parents William Johnson Burch and Edna Pendley Burch; he is survived by his wife of 66 years Helen Boyd Burch of Lebanon; three sons Richard L Burch of Hendersonville, Tn, William F. Burch (Jerry) of Birmingham, Al and James B Burch (Therese) of Leesburg, Virginia; five grandchildren Charles L Burch(Jennifer) of Atlanta, Ga, William B Burch (Jody) of Richmond, Va, Ryan Burch of Birmingham, Al, Jessica Burch of Leesburg, Virginia and Leigh Burch of Purceville, Virginia; and 7 great grandchildren. Mr Burch was raised in Bruceton, Tn and attended Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tn ; he later attended Middle Tenn State University where he was two sport letterman in football and basketball. Mr Burch joined the Navy at the start of World War II and became a Navy fighter pilot, being deployed to the Pacific theatre; he was a decorated pilot for his combat missions, including being awarded the Navy's Distinguished Flying Cross; Mr. Burch stayed in Navy reserve after the war and retired as Commander following 30 years of service, where he commanded a flight squadron out of Birmingham. Mr Burch received his Masters Degree from George Peabody College in Nashville and did extensive work on his PHD at Indiana University. Mr. Burch was hired as basketball, tennis, golf and baseball coach at Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham, Al in 1947 and stayed there until 1973; he served in several capacities at BSC including Athletics Director, Dean of Men and Director of Development. Mr Burch was inducted into the BSC Sports Hall of Fame and later had the Old Gym named after him. Mr Burch, while in Birmingham was President of the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board, member of Chamber of Commerce Athletic Affairs Committee and a senior member of the Alabama State High School Football Officials Association. Mr. Burch moved back to Lebanon, the city where he attended prep school and was Director of Development at Cumberland University before he began work for Cracker Barrel Restaurant Corp and worked there until he retired in 1996. Mr Burch was a member of First United Methodist Church in Lebanon, Tn and was a volunteer and usher at the church. The family wishes to acknowledge the loving care given to him by his caregivers while he was home; Melony Cason, Edna Crawford, Jimmy Sue Johnson, Dawn Jordan, Mary Denson, and Julianna Reedy. In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to the First United Methodist Church in Lebanon. Visitation and funeral services will be held at the Sellers Funeral home in Lebanon, Tn from 10am to 11am on Wednesday 12/10/08 with private graveside service at Maplewood Cemetery in Tullahoma, Tn.