Carl Leonard Burba

Carl Leonard ìC. L.î Burba went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at the Cedar Ridge Assisted Living Center in Broken Arrow at the age of eighty. He was born on a hot summer afternoon in Cleveland, Oklahoma on July 20, 1934 to parents, James and Inas Burba, and was the youngest of four children. C. L. was a mischievous boy who enjoyed his childhood to the fullest and caused many a headache for several teachers during his 12 years of school at Cleveland. During his elementary years, C. L. joined the Boy Scouts and as a teen achieved the honorable rank of Eagle Scout. In 1950 he was privileged to attend the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Valley Forge, PA. On this trip, he also had the privilege of touring Washington, DC and New York City. After high school, he attended Oklahoma A&M before marrying the love of his life, Nola Mae Norwood (his childhood and high school sweetheart) on June 20, 1954, at the First Baptist Church in Cleveland. They were married 58 years before she passed in 2012. From their happy marriage two daughters were born ñ Karen Lynn and Amanda Mae. C. L. and his new bride moved to Tulsa in 1957 where he worked for several companies before settling in at American Airlines where he worked for over 30 years. The company benefits provided many wonderful domestic and international travel opportunities for the family including 25 trips to Disneyland in California! (In 2005 they were offered jobs at Disneyland as senior greeter. They decided they were too senior to try this!) After retiring from American, the Burbas spent many wonderful times traveling, often with their children and grandchildren. Church life was very important to C. L. His salvation was the product of a youth-led revival at First Baptist of Cleveland, but he didnít get active in church until he and Nola joined Eastwood Baptist Church in Tulsa in 1958 as charter members. They faithfully attended Eastwood for 54 years, teaching childrenís Sunday school for 43 of those wonderful years. C. L. also was an ordained deacon and elder of the church, and beloved usher, greeting everyone with a big smile and handshake! C. L. enjoyed many hobbies ñ everything from water skiing and camping to airline traveling, riding railroads and model railroading. His favorite pastime, however, was spending time with his family and friends reflecting upon the goodness of Godís love and amazing grace. He lived his life as a wonderful example of a Christian man, always loving and giving, inspired by his favorite verse John 3:16 which says ìFor God so loved the world that He gave his only SonÖî He is survived by two daughters and their husbands, Amy and Clayton Haggard of Bixby, Oklahoma and Karen and Dennis Smith of Sherwood, Arkansas; three granddaughters, Elizabeth Bullington, Rachel Smith and Jessica Haggard; one grandson, Jonathan Haggard; grandson-in-law, Jason Bullington; two great-grandsons, Fletcher and Mason Bullington; numerous other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by wife, Nola Mae Norwood Burba; parents, James Alfred Burba and Inas Jessie Burba; sister, Nadine Davis; and two brothers, James Alfred Burba, Jr. and Charles Burba. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, July 26, 2014 at Eastwood Baptist Church in Tulsa with Rev. Gordon Small officiating. Graveside services will be at 1:00 pm, at the Dixie-Bear Creek Cemetery in Cleveland under the direction of the Chapman-Black Funeral Home.