Randall J. Burch
July 17th, 1918 - December 9th, 2001
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Randall's Obituary
Randall ?Red? Burch 83, died Sunday December 9, 2001 at
his home in St. Joseph.
A Masonic Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday
December 15, 2001, at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral
Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph with Lake Shore Masonic
Lodge #298 presiding. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 11:00
Saturday at the Funeral Home. Memorials May be made to
Hospice at Home or Humane Society of Southwest Michigan.
Red was born on July 17, 1918 to Roscoe and Audrey (Grove)
Burch in Dowagiac, Michigan. A graduate of Benton Harbor
High School in 1937, he was a top area basketball player. He
also played on the football and tennis teams. Then he
graduated from Carnegie ?Tech? Institute, Class of 1941, in
the College of Engineering, Department of Printing. He was a
member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Captain of the varsity
Basketball team.
After college he entered the military earning the rank of
Captain. He served during WWII in the Pacific Theater in
US Army Topographic Corps of Engineers.
Returning Home he joined his family business, Burch
Printers, until he retired in 1986 as president / owner. During
his life he was a prominent community leader, Red was
President of St. Joseph- Benton Harbor Rotary Club;
President and board member of the Blossomtime Festival,
member of Lake Shore Masonic 298, 32nd Degree Scottish
Rite Valley of Grand Rapids and Saladin Shrine ? Grand
Rapids, President of Berrien Hills Country Club and one of
the founders of the Point ?O Woods Country club and its 3rd
President.
His love of golf led him to a second home in Pinehurst, NC
where he was a member of Pinehurst Country Club for 25
years.
Surviving is his wife Gloria Harris Burch; a son Jim (Sue
Ann) Burch of St. Joseph; step daughter Claren Schweitzer
(Tom Thornburg) of Kalamazoo, MI; step-son Eric (Nanatte)
Schweitzer Ellicott City MD; seven grandchildren Max,
Anna, Ross Burch, Alicia, Colin Pahl, Lydia Thornburg,
Joseph Schweitzer and a sister Audrey (Darrell) Emlong of St.
Joseph
He was preceded in death by a sister, Janice Fralic
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