GREENVILLE — Leon O’Neill Burney, 77, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, with his daughters by his side.
The funeral service will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at Rose Hill FWB Church with a visitation prior to the service, from 1-2 p.m. Burial will take place at Pinewood Memorial Park following the service.
Leon was born on September 10, 1942, to Claude and Lucy Burney on a small farm in Clarkton. He attended Clarkton School until graduation in 1961 and furthered his education at Cape Fear Technical School, where he received a certification in HVAC. After graduation, he moved to Charlotte before he was drafted into the United States Army.
While in the Army, he served in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Fort Bliss, Texas, and then Korea. After he served in the Army, he traveled home to Clarkton and married his high school sweetheart, Katherine Atkinson, in September of 1966.
They were married for 52 years until her passing in 2018. They made their home in Greenville, where they raised two daughters. While living in Greenville, Leon worked at DuPont, Honeywell and Burroughs Wellcome. He was a member of Arlington Boulevard Baptist Church from 1968 until its closing in 2016. He was a current member of Rose Hill FWB Church. He was also a retired member of the Simpson Volunteer Fire Department. His hobbies included hunting, fishing, gardening, and working on his 1952 Farmall tractor.
Leon was preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Lucy Burney; wife, Katherine Burney; infant daughter, Karen Burney; sisters, Jeanette Bridgers of Elizabethtown, Carolyn Clark of Lisbon, Alice Butler of Isle of Palms, South Carolina, and Catherine Burney of Clarkton; and brother, Charles Burney of Leland.
He is survived by his daughters, Joi Burney Hadnott and husband, Ken Hadnott, of Greenville and Tiffany Burney Bowman and husband, Jeff Bowman, of Greenville. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Katherine Bowman, Alex Hadnott, Matthew Hadnott, Kade Bowman and Olivia Hadnott; three brothers, Gethro (Geet) Burney of Clarkton, Fred (Buddy) Burney of Clarkton, and Earl Burney of Kelly.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123, and the Alzheimer’s Association of North Carolina, 5171 Glenwood Ave Suite 101, Raleigh, NC 27612.
Arrangements by Wilkerson Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences at WilkersonFuneralHome.com.
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