Obituary
Richard Allen "Dick" Burger, 102, passed away June 5, 2023, at Mercy Hospital, Centerville, Iowa. The youngest son of John Irvin and Rosetta Miles Burger, he was born July 26, 1920, in Waterloo, Iowa. John and Rose returned to the family farm near Udell, Iowa, shortly after Dick's birth, where he spent most of the hundred-plus years of his life farming in Appanoose County.
He graduated from Udell High School in 1938 and attended McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas, from 1938 to 1942, graduating with a BA in history. While a student at McPherson, Dick set the Kansas State record for the two mile on May 16, 1941, but on June 20th, a sudden illness prevented him from running his qualifying heat at Stanford University for the 1942 Olympics.
In 1942, Dick began training for ministry at Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago and served as pastor of the Naperville Church of the Brethren, Naperville, Illinois. He married Ann Witmore Burger on August 22, 1943. Five children followed: John (June) Burger, Richard (Gail) Burger, Sam Burger, Annette (Andrew) Graves, and Nonie (Chip) Downing. After his ordination to the ministry in 1945, Dick and Ann left to serve as missionaries for the Church of the Brethren in northeast Nigeria, where they founded the mission station at Shafa, Borno State. In addition to his evangelistic work, Dick taught agriculture, training farmers to use a moldboard plow pulled by oxen, which revolutionized the local agriculture and contributed to the alleviation of hunger in local villages.
Medical issues led to the Burgers' return to the States in 1956. Dick pastored the Middlebury Church of the Brethren, Middlebury, Indiana, from 1959 to 1962 before returning to the family farm in Appanoose County and farming fulltime. For the next fifty years, Dick's primary focus was on ethical land management. Informed by his experiences with agriculture in Nigeria, he pioneered new methods of soil conservation, including no-till farming. During the 1960s, he served as interim pastor of the Ottumwa Church of the Brethren and the Monroe County Church of the Brethren, contributed to the organization and leadership of the Appanoose County Rural Taxpayers Association, and served as president of the Moulton-Udell School Board. Dick was also a longtime member of the Rathbun Rural Water Association Board.
In July 2021, at age 101, he was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 74 years, his sons John and Sam, and his great-grandson, Ethan Delgado.
A lifelong member of the Fairview Church of the Brethren, Dick is survived by nine grandsons—John Burger, Nicholas (Dawn) Burger, Saul (Laura) Burger, Shane Burger, Tell (Kate) Burger, Joel (Jessica) Burger, William (Melissa) Vittetoe, Andrew (Ashley) Vittetoe, and Philip Vittetoe, and seven granddaughters—Julie (Randy) Jeske, Heidi (Rafael) Delgado, Emily (Lars Kjos) Burger, Laura Vittetoe, Alix (Torbjorn) Rasmussen, Kate (Jesse) Woodman, and Jane (John) Kreckman.
Visitation is from 11 am to noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, at Fairview Church of the Brethren, Unionville, Iowa, with service immediately following. Memorials may be made to Fairview Church of the Brethren, and may be mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, ATTN: Burger family, 501 North 18th Street, Centerville, Iowa 52544. Condolences may be shared online at www.thomasfh.com or on our funeral home Facebook page
Richard Allen "Dick" Burger, 102, passed away June 5, 2023, at Mercy Hospital, Centerville, Iowa. The youngest son of John Irvin and Rosetta Miles Burger, he was born July 26, 1920, in Waterloo, Iowa. John and Rose returned to the family farm near Udell, Iowa, shortly after Dick's birth, where he spent most of the hundred-plus years of his life farming in Appanoose County.
He graduated from Udell High School in 1938 and attended McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas, from 1938 to 1942, graduating with a BA in history. While a student at McPherson, Dick set the Kansas State record for the two mile on May 16, 1941, but on June 20th, a sudden illness prevented him from running his qualifying heat at Stanford University for the 1942 Olympics.
In 1942, Dick began training for ministry at Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago and served as pastor of the Naperville Church of the Brethren, Naperville, Illinois. He married Ann Witmore Burger on August 22, 1943. Five children followed: John (June) Burger, Richard (Gail) Burger, Sam Burger, Annette (Andrew) Graves, and Nonie (Chip) Downing. After his ordination to the ministry in 1945, Dick and Ann left to serve as missionaries for the Church of the Brethren in northeast Nigeria, where they founded the mission station at Shafa, Borno State. In addition to his evangelistic work, Dick taught agriculture, training farmers to use a moldboard plow pulled by oxen, which revolutionized the local agriculture and contributed to the alleviation of hunger in local villages.
Medical issues led to the Burgers' return to the States in 1956. Dick pastored the Middlebury Church of the Brethren, Middlebury, Indiana, from 1959 to 1962 before returning to the family farm in Appanoose County and farming fulltime. For the next fifty years, Dick's primary focus was on ethical land management. Informed by his experiences with agriculture in Nigeria, he pioneered new methods of soil conservation, including no-till farming. During the 1960s, he served as interim pastor of the Ottumwa Church of the Brethren and the Monroe County Church of the Brethren, contributed to the organization and leadership of the Appanoose County Rural Taxpayers Association, and served as president of the Moulton-Udell School Board. Dick was also a longtime member of the Rathbun Rural Water Association Board.
In July 2021, at age 101, he was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 74 years, his sons John and Sam, and his great-grandson, Ethan Delgado.
A lifelong member of the Fairview Church of the Brethren, Dick is survived by nine grandsons—John Burger, Nicholas (Dawn) Burger, Saul (Laura) Burger, Shane Burger, Tell (Kate) Burger, Joel (Jessica) Burger, William (Melissa) Vittetoe, Andrew (Ashley) Vittetoe, and Philip Vittetoe, and seven granddaughters—Julie (Randy) Jeske, Heidi (Rafael) Delgado, Emily (Lars Kjos) Burger, Laura Vittetoe, Alix (Torbjorn) Rasmussen, Kate (Jesse) Woodman, and Jane (John) Kreckman.
Visitation is from 11 am to noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, at Fairview Church of the Brethren, Unionville, Iowa, with service immediately following. Memorials may be made to Fairview Church of the Brethren, and may be mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, ATTN: Burger family, 501 North 18th Street, Centerville, Iowa 52544. Condolences may be shared online at www.thomasfh.com or on our funeral home Facebook page
Obituary
Richard Allen "Dick" Burger, 102, passed away June 5, 2023, at Mercy Hospital, Centerville, Iowa. The youngest son of John Irvin and Rosetta Miles Burger, he was born July 26, 1920, in Waterloo, Iowa. John and Rose returned to the family farm near Udell, Iowa, shortly after Dick's birth, where he spent most of the hundred-plus years of his life farming in Appanoose County.
He graduated from Udell High School in 1938 and attended McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas, from 1938 to 1942, graduating with a BA in history. While a student at McPherson, Dick set the Kansas State record for the two mile on May 16, 1941, but on June 20th, a sudden illness prevented him from running his qualifying heat at Stanford University for the 1942 Olympics.
In 1942, Dick began training for ministry at Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago and served as pastor of the Naperville Church of the Brethren, Naperville, Illinois. He married Ann Witmore Burger on August 22, 1943. Five children followed: John (June) Burger, Richard (Gail) Burger, Sam Burger, Annette (Andrew) Graves, and Nonie (Chip) Downing. After his ordination to the ministry in 1945, Dick and Ann left to serve as missionaries for the Church of the Brethren in northeast Nigeria, where they founded the mission station at Shafa, Borno State. In addition to his evangelistic work, Dick taught agriculture, training farmers to use a moldboard plow pulled by oxen, which revolutionized the local agriculture and contributed to the alleviation of hunger in local villages.
Medical issues led to the Burgers' return to the States in 1956. Dick pastored the Middlebury Church of the Brethren, Middlebury, Indiana, from 1959 to 1962 before returning to the family farm in Appanoose County and farming fulltime. For the next fifty years, Dick's primary focus was on ethical land management. Informed by his experiences with agriculture in Nigeria, he pioneered new methods of soil conservation, including no-till farming. During the 1960s, he served as interim pastor of the Ottumwa Church of the Brethren and the Monroe County Church of the Brethren, contributed to the organization and leadership of the Appanoose County Rural Taxpayers Association, and served as president of the Moulton-Udell School Board. Dick was also a longtime member of the Rathbun Rural Water Association Board.
In July 2021, at age 101, he was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 74 years, his sons John and Sam, and his great-grandson, Ethan Delgado.
A lifelong member of the Fairview Church of the Brethren, Dick is survived by nine grandsons—John Burger, Nicholas (Dawn) Burger, Saul (Laura) Burger, Shane Burger, Tell (Kate) Burger, Joel (Jessica) Burger, William (Melissa) Vittetoe, Andrew (Ashley) Vittetoe, and Philip Vittetoe, and seven granddaughters—Julie (Randy) Jeske, Heidi (Rafael) Delgado, Emily (Lars Kjos) Burger, Laura Vittetoe, Alix (Torbjorn) Rasmussen, Kate (Jesse) Woodman, and Jane (John) Kreckman.
Visitation is from 11 am to noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, at Fairview Church of the Brethren, Unionville, Iowa, with service immediately following. Memorials may be made to Fairview Church of the Brethren, and may be mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, ATTN: Burger family, 501 North 18th Street, Centerville, Iowa 52544. Condolences may be shared online at www.thomasfh.com or on our funeral home Facebook page
Richard Allen "Dick" Burger, 102, passed away June 5, 2023, at Mercy Hospital, Centerville, Iowa. The youngest son of John Irvin and Rosetta Miles Burger, he was born July 26, 1920, in Waterloo, Iowa. John and Rose returned to the family farm near Udell, Iowa, shortly after Dick's birth, where he spent most of the hundred-plus years of his life farming in Appanoose County.
He graduated from Udell High School in 1938 and attended McPherson College, McPherson, Kansas, from 1938 to 1942, graduating with a BA in history. While a student at McPherson, Dick set the Kansas State record for the two mile on May 16, 1941, but on June 20th, a sudden illness prevented him from running his qualifying heat at Stanford University for the 1942 Olympics.
In 1942, Dick began training for ministry at Bethany Theological Seminary in Chicago and served as pastor of the Naperville Church of the Brethren, Naperville, Illinois. He married Ann Witmore Burger on August 22, 1943. Five children followed: John (June) Burger, Richard (Gail) Burger, Sam Burger, Annette (Andrew) Graves, and Nonie (Chip) Downing. After his ordination to the ministry in 1945, Dick and Ann left to serve as missionaries for the Church of the Brethren in northeast Nigeria, where they founded the mission station at Shafa, Borno State. In addition to his evangelistic work, Dick taught agriculture, training farmers to use a moldboard plow pulled by oxen, which revolutionized the local agriculture and contributed to the alleviation of hunger in local villages.
Medical issues led to the Burgers' return to the States in 1956. Dick pastored the Middlebury Church of the Brethren, Middlebury, Indiana, from 1959 to 1962 before returning to the family farm in Appanoose County and farming fulltime. For the next fifty years, Dick's primary focus was on ethical land management. Informed by his experiences with agriculture in Nigeria, he pioneered new methods of soil conservation, including no-till farming. During the 1960s, he served as interim pastor of the Ottumwa Church of the Brethren and the Monroe County Church of the Brethren, contributed to the organization and leadership of the Appanoose County Rural Taxpayers Association, and served as president of the Moulton-Udell School Board. Dick was also a longtime member of the Rathbun Rural Water Association Board.
In July 2021, at age 101, he was recognized by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader of the Year.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 74 years, his sons John and Sam, and his great-grandson, Ethan Delgado.
A lifelong member of the Fairview Church of the Brethren, Dick is survived by nine grandsons—John Burger, Nicholas (Dawn) Burger, Saul (Laura) Burger, Shane Burger, Tell (Kate) Burger, Joel (Jessica) Burger, William (Melissa) Vittetoe, Andrew (Ashley) Vittetoe, and Philip Vittetoe, and seven granddaughters—Julie (Randy) Jeske, Heidi (Rafael) Delgado, Emily (Lars Kjos) Burger, Laura Vittetoe, Alix (Torbjorn) Rasmussen, Kate (Jesse) Woodman, and Jane (John) Kreckman.
Visitation is from 11 am to noon on Monday, July 31, 2023, at Fairview Church of the Brethren, Unionville, Iowa, with service immediately following. Memorials may be made to Fairview Church of the Brethren, and may be mailed to Thomas Funeral Home, ATTN: Burger family, 501 North 18th Street, Centerville, Iowa 52544. Condolences may be shared online at www.thomasfh.com or on our funeral home Facebook page
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
