Obituary for
Orville F. Burkemper
Burkemper, Orville F., Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church, Wed., May 10, 2017. Dear husband of Virginia and the late Mary Carolyn Burkemper; dear father of Sharon (Ned) Flottman, Ken (Robin) Burkemper, Bryan (Cindy) Burkemper, Vince (Marianne) Burkemper, Carol (Daniel) Snow, Michael (Jill) Burkemper and Katie (Mark) Calandro; dear grandfather of Christian, Elisabeth, John Flottman, Jessica, Eric Burkemper, Matthew, David, Christina, Daniel Burkemper, Fr. Andrew, Madeline, Claire Burkemper, Philip, Emery, Clarissa Snow, Juliana, John Henry, Gary Burkemper, Hannah and Sam Calandro; dear great-grandfather of Benjamin Patchen, Dominic, Mathias Burkemper, Francis Depenbusch; dear brother of Mary Ellen Link; dear uncle, godfather & cousin; preceded in death by his parents, Julius and Barbara Burkemper; siblings, Frank Burkemper, Harold Burkemper, Marlene Bourbon, Laura Ann Moore; brother-in-law, Robert Link; daughter-in-law, Cheryl Burkemper.
Orville was born Jan 16th 1932. He attended St Monica’s grade school, Chaminade high school and St Louis University. Orville served in the Air Force during the Korean war. He worked for several years for Travelers Insurance. In Aug 1964 he purchased Sugar Creek Valley Nursery. In 1983 he opened Dougherty Ferry Golf center. He has been a member of St Gerard Majella Church since 1964. He was passionate about the protection of the unborn. He was involved in the grassroots efforts of the Pro life movement in the St Louis area. He made numerous trips to Washington D.C. for the annual March for life. Orville loved his family and friends deeply. He taught many the love of boating and skiing. The Holidays and Gatherings were a big part of his life. Anything involving Duct tape or water made him happy.
Visitation Mon., 4-8 pm at BOPP Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd., Kirkwood. (www.boppchapel.com) Funeral Mass Tues., May 16, 10 am at St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church, Ballas & Dougherty Ferry Rd. Interment Calvary Cemetery. Memorial contributions are preferred to Our Lady’s Inn, 8790 Manchester Rd. #202, St. Louis MO 63144 (ourladysinn.org) or to Defenders of the Unborn, 13610 Barrett Office Dr. Ste. 203, Manchester MO 63021 (defenseless68@gmail.com)