Gene Burson

Gene LaVerle Burson, of Welling was born March 16, 1964 to Homer Paul & Laura Mae (Gerken) Burson at Welling, OK., the 7th of 8 children. He was greatly loved & doted on by his older siblings. He passed from this life, at home surrounded by loved ones on Saturday, July 14, 2018 at the age of 54 years, 3 months & 28 days.

Gene lived in Welling & attended Tenkiller Elementary through the 7th grade. His family moved to Vici, OK where Gene attended & graduated from Vici High School in 1982. Gene was baptized into the General Assembly & Church of the Firstborn on June 7, 1982 at Vici by Bro. Eddie Tomlinson.

After graduation, Gene returned to the Welling area where he worked for his brother-in-law George, at Sanders Automotive Repair & his brother Paul, at The Muffler Shop in Stilwell. In 1985, he began his 31 year career with Greenleaf Nursery Company, starting as a welder & was promoted a couple of years later to shipping manager. He remained in this position until 2015 when his failing health forced him to retire.
Gene was united in marriage to the love of his life, Karen Morris, in Vici, OK on May 16, 1987. They were married 31 years & were blessed with 4 wonderful children, Monica, Clint, Christyn & Kyle.
Gene was a devoted husband, dad, brother, uncle & friend to many. He was admired for his integrity, work ethic, perseverance, determination, sense of humor, love & kindness by people across the nation. If you knew Gene, you loved Gene.

Karen's love for Gene began growing at the age of 12 when he moved to Vici. The handsome dark-haired, brown-eyed young man caught her eye but his sense of humor & loving, gentle nature with his little nieces & nephews won her heart. And as many friends can attest to, no one ever held a candle to Gene in Karen's heart. It seemed that working hard was Gene's hobby. He was passionate about taking care of & growing his cattle herd. He started taking each of his children with him to check cattle at a very young age. As they grew up he loved attending their many 4-H activities, stock shows & school activities. He passed his love of flowers, gardening & landscaping on to each of his children. Gene enjoyed hunting & fishing but more than anything enjoyed the quiet, peaceful time to reflect & appreciate God's creation.

Family was so important to Gene. He seemed to be the magnet that just pulled everyone together. He held his children, parents, brothers, sisters nieces & nephews (whether by blood or marriage) very close to his heart.
His love of God & unwavering faith brought him through many hard trials. Gene's health had been declining for several years but a little over 3 years ago he suffered complete loss of his vision. But in true Gene fashion, he continued with the help of his family, to do most of the things he did before. He still kept the cattle operation going & could remember every detail, fact & figure with amazing accuracy. Gene was still helping run the log splitter & stack wood this past winter & helped plant seeds & bushes this spring. Church & the brethren were of utmost importance to Gene. He very seldom missed church. Even if he had to get there late or leave early he always pushed to go. Church was the last place Gene was able to go on Wednesday night 2 weeks before he passed.

Gene is survived by his wife, Karen Burson of Welling; daughter Monica Wright & husband Keith of Agra, OK; son Clint Burson & wife Kaitlin of Welling; daughter Christyn Burson of the home, son Kyle Burson of the home, & grandson, Grayson Parker Wright of Agra. Brothers, Paul Burson & wife Denise, Duane Burson & wife Helen; sisters, Cheryl Taylor & husband Leon, Diana Sanders & husband George, Judi Glory & husband Larry, Lynette Studie & husband Johnny, all of Welling & Nancy Swezey & husband Conn of Brewster, WA, Father-in-law Freddie Morris of Vici, OK, Brother-in-law Owen Morris and wife Gladys of Perkins, OK, and Sister-in-law Wilda Nichols and husband Jim of Tulsa, OK, 37 nieces and nephews and 61 great-nieces and nephews.

Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Homer & Mae Burson and his mother-in-law, Luella Morris.

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