WILLIAM HALE BURLING 1885-1969

KETCHUM, BURLING, HOLTER, SCHROEDER, STAACK, HAGENSICK, MARQUIS

Posted By: Volunteer
Date: 6/30/2005 at 13:52:49

WILLIAM HALE BURLING 1885-1969

Funeral services for William Hale Burling were held in the Peace United Church of Christ, Elkader, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 2, 1969, at 2:00 p.m., with the Reverend Alvin Voile officiating. Interment was in the Postville Cemetery.

William Hale Burling, son of Fred S. Burling and Flora Ketchum Burling, was born on May 10, 1885 in Postville. His childhood and teen years were spent in Postville where he received his education in the public schools and graduated from Postville High School.

After attending Upper Iowa University and the State University of Iowa Law School, he was admitted to the practice of law in Iowa on June 3, 1909. For the next 57 years he was associated with law partnerships in Postville; first, with his father, F. H. Burling; then with Arthur J. Palas; and finally with his son, Robert H. Burling, until he retired from active practice in 1966.

On November 9, 1910, Hale Burling was united in marriage with Edna Holter at Postville. This union was blessed with three children, all of whom survive: Carl Frederick Burling, of Park Ridge, Illinois; Bernice Burling Schroeder, of Columbia, Missouri; and Robert Hale Burling, of Postville. His wife, Edna, died at Oelwein, on April 4, 1937.

During the years he spent as a Postville attorney, Hale devoted a share of his time to serving the Community Presbyterian Church, of which he was a member, as an elder, a Church School teacher, and a member of the board of trustees. He was a member of the Town council from 1914 to 1916; Mayor of Postville from 1918 to 1920; and a member of the Postville Library Board for many years. For over 30 years, Hale took an active interest in Upper Iowa College, Fayette, by representing the college on its Board of Trustees. He was affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and Iowa State Bar Association.

On December 18, 1945, Hale Burling was united in marriage to Anna (Staack) Hagensick at Iowa City. He then made his home in Elkader, commuting to his Postville Law Office until his retirement in 1966.

After moving to Elkader, he became a member of the Peace United Church of Christ at Elkader. Mr. Burling, after a brief illness, passed away at the Central Community Hospital in Elkader on Sunday, March 30, 1969.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Charles Glen Burling; and two sisters, Alice Josephine Marquis, and Genevieve Estelle Burling. Mr. Burling is survived by his wife, Anna; his three children; nine grandchildren; other relatives and numerous friends.

Postville Herald - contributed by Mary Durr