Burket, Leroy K. Jr. 1920-2003

BURKET, COOLEY

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, Volunteer (email)
Date: 4/29/2007 at 14:50:57

AKRON, Iowa -- Leroy Kirwan "Roy" Burket Jr., 83, of Akron died Tuesday, May 13, 2003, in Akron.

Services were held Monday, May 19, at Schroeder Funeral Home in Akron. Neal Peck officiated. Burial was in Riverside Cemetery. Military rites were conducted by American Legion Hoschler Post 186 of Akron.

Leroy Kirwan "Roy" Burket Jr. was born April 13, 1920, in Alton, Iowa, to Leroy Kirwan and Eunice G. (Cooley) Burket. His twin sister, Eunice, was born a few minutes later. The family moved to Akron in 1928, from Alton. He attended school in Akron, where he was a member of the Methodist Church. He graduated from Akron Community High School in 1938. During his school years he participated in many activities including the Boy Scouts, drama and the high school newspaper, where he was an art editor. As a Boy Scout, he earned an Eagle Scout merit badge.

He attended the University of Iowa, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1942. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. He served in the Pacific aboard the USS Boise, a light cruiser. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, he returned to the University of Iowa to pursue a master's degree, graduating in 1948 with an M.F.A. He then taught various art courses at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln from 1948 until 1957, when he relocated to Paris, France.

He was a talented artist, producing many works in multiple media including oil paintings, water color, sculpture, collage and printmaking. During the 1950s and 1960s, his paintings and prints were selected for many exhibitions including several one-man shows in the United States and Europe.

While living in France, he taught art classes at a U.S. Air Force Base near Paris. He later worked at Trianon Press in Paris, where he provided research and technical support services during the development and production of a series of illustrated books of poetry by William Blake. He retired in 1986.

In retirement, he continued to live in Paris, visiting family and friends in the United States annually. He was an avid collector of 18th and 19th century European prints, 19th century ceramics, bronzes and oil paintings. He will be fondly remembered and sorely missed by family and friends in the United States and Europe.

Survivors include two sisters, Mary Gale of Akron, and his twin, Eunice Duncanson of Merced, Calif.; two nieces; two nephews; two great-nieces; and six great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Wilson Clinton Burket; and a niece.

[Part of the Darrell Easton Obituary Collecton; source: Sioux City Journal]