J. Harvey Burch
December 13, 1915 – December 14, 2008

SHERWOOD – J. Harvey Burch, 93, of Sherwood, quietly passed away Sunday, December 14, 2008. 

He was born December 13, 1915, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, to Charles and Rosa (Threadgill) Burch.  He was raised in Ardmore, but graduated from Central High School in Oklahoma City in 1933.  Harvey then entered service in the U.S. Army from 1934 to 1939, and following his discharge, married Ms. Goldie Deal in a wedding on 28 October, 1939, in Lawton Oklahoma.  He was later drafted into the Army reentering service in June of 1945 and served with Company B 10th Engineering Battalion in the European Theater during WW II.  Following his discharge in July of 1946, he returned to Oklahoma City and worked as a superintendent for the British American Oil Company for 12 years.  Harvey then ventured out in 1958 starting his own business, Burch’s Oil Field Service.

In December 1964, Goldie and Harvey came to North Dakota on a 10-day assignment in the oil fields.  Those 10 days turned into 44 years!  They first lived in Mohall for approximately 10 years, and have made Sherwood their home for the last 34.  Harvey worked his entire life retiring in 1993 at the age of 78.

Harvey was a member of United Methodist Church, Sherwood; the Bothun-Peterson American Legion Post #213, Sherwood, and was a 32nd Degree Mason in the Sherwood Masonic Lodge.  Harvey enjoyed wood working, reading, watching baseball and in general, “tinkering.”  He and Goldie traveled to many destinations around the world.

Family:  wife of 69 years, Goldie; sons, Jim (Susie) Burch, Billings, MT; Chuck (Jan) Burch, Atlanta, GA; young men whom they helped parent, Don (Donna) Adkins, Lakewood, CO; Larry (Nona) Brandley, Estes Park, CO; grandchildren, Jeff Burch, Clovis, CA; Mark Burch, Vandenberg AFB, Lompoc, CA; Kristi Burch, Kansas City, KS; Barrett Burch, Atlanta, GA; and Katy Hutsen, Atlanta, GA; 10 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Harvey was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters and two brothers; and Tom Longacre.

Funeral:  Friday, December 19, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Sherwood

Burial:  Union Cemetery, Sherwood

Family Service:  Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home

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