Obituary - Bob Burnett
Monday, May 1, 2017
Benjamin Oliver Burnett (Bob), 79, passed away Monday, April 24 at the Spartanburg (SC) Regional Medical Center, surrounded by his family. A memorial service was held Friday, April 28 at Memorial United Methodist Church in Greer.
Burnett was born in Rock Hill, SC on December 26, 1937 and was raised in Greer. His parents, Claude Oliver Burnett and Vera Edwards Burnett, preceded him in death. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Alice Drake Burnett; two children, Allison Burnett of Greer and Drake Burnett of Salt Lake City, UT; three nieces, Cyndy Harris, Lyndy Coffman and Harriet Detar, all of Dallas, TX.
After graduating from Greer High School in 1956, Burnett attended Newberry College where he met his beloved wife, Alice Drake, on their first day of school. They both graduated in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in Education.
Following college, he and Alice taught school at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC and also in Sullivan’s Island, SC. Burnett later served in the South Carolina State House of Representatives from 1968 to 1970.
Burnett also had a passion for horses along with a thriving Equine Insurance Agency (The Rhulen Insurance and Equine Agency). He was President of the Greenville Horse Show (now the J.D. Massey Classic), which was well know for its great exhibitor’s parties. He was inducted into the JD Massey Hall of Fame in 2012, serving for many years as Vice-President and board member, always promoting JD Massey, ASAC and the American Saddlebred Horse Association.
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