The Life of Kenneth Martin Burdette
Obituary
Ken Burdette, 82, of Prairie Village, KS died unexpectedly at home April 28, 2016. A memorial service. will be held at 11 AM Thurs May 5 at Hillcrest
Covenant Church, 8801 Nall Ave, Prairie Village, KS. Visitation will be at 10 AM. Burial will be after the service in the Olathe Cemetery, Olathe, KS. In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to City Union Mission, 1100 E. 11th St, Kansas City, MO, in the name of Ken Burdette.
Ken, called "Buzz" by his family and friends, was born April 11, 1934 in
Kansas City, MO to Cora Fay (Haneline) Burdette and Kenneth Manson
Burdette and was raised in Olathe. He graduated from St. John Memorial High School, Olathe, KS, in 1952 as a High Honor student and Senior Class President. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1956 with a Fine Arts degree in Illustration. He was a member of Delta Phi Delta art fraternity. Buzz joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1956 and was assigned as a Scout Driver in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. In 1957 he arrived in Tokyo, Japan, assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters where he was
Division Newspaper Illustrator. He was honorably discharged in 1964. In
1961 he married Cheryl Sue Frazee of Kansas City, MO, whom he had met in the Art Department at KU. Buzz and Cheryl have been members of
Hillcrest Covenant Church since 1976.
Buzz was a talented and highly respected commercial illustrator in the
Kansas City area for over 50 years. He was staff illustrator at two
advertising agencies before going to Farmland Industries in 1968, where he was Senior Illustrator and Art Department Manager until 1986. He was
Master Artist and Graphic Computer Artist at Western Auto from 1988 to
1998. He was a Computer Illustrator at Long Motor Co. in Lenexa, KS from 1999 to 2008. He also freelanced for 54 agencies and studios. One long
time account was the NCAA, for whom he designed many medals and
trophies awarded to college sports teams and individual athletes. Buzz was a very dedicated artist and thoroughly enjoyed his craft.
Buzz was quite knowledgeable of military history and weapons and was a long-time member of the NRA. His other lifelong interests included aircraft and flying, adventure comic strips of the 1930's -1940's, illustrators and
painters through the centuries and reading. He enjoyed visiting art galleries and museums where he could closely inspect the works of master artists.
Buzz greatly enjoyed daily conversations with his co-workers and became a "father-figure" to many for his wisdom and humor when counseling them
through life struggles.
As a great lover of dogs, he owned many throughout his lifetime. A
humorous storyteller, he enjoyed regaling others with his many "dog
stories", especially his daughter, Evin.
Buzz was preceded in death by his mother in 1972 and his father in 1984. He is survived by Cheryl, his wife of nearly 55 years, of the home; his
beloved daughter Evin Wood and husband Mike of Aurora, CO; step
grandchildren Christopher Wood and wife Suzanne of Indianapolis, IN, and Danielle Wood of New Albany, IN; his brother Charles Manson Burdette of Charlotte, NC, and two nephews, Duncan Burdette and wife Kathy and
family of Overland Park, KS and Stuart Burdette and wife Shanlee and son of Westlake Village, CA. He also leaves dear family friends of 50 years,
Larry and Joann Neuhauser of Parkville, MO.
We dearly love you and will greatly miss you. We will all see you again one day.