Donald Burbacher
Donald Edward Burbacher
DONALD EDWARD BURBACHER of Summerfield, Ohio was born to Glen and Rosa Burbacher on January 11, 1950, and after a 21-year battle with Multiple Sclerosis, he passed from this life on October 29, 1991. Donnie left behind his wife, Paula Burbacher and step-children Sherry and Jeffrey, one sister, Deborah Jo (Burbacher) Wells, a niece and nephew and a growing number of grandchildren. He loved spending time with the kids and would have been overjoyed to have met all six of his grand-children.
As a teen, Donnie enjoyed spending time outdoors doing many activities including riding horses, camping, putting up hay and farming in general. He had a very big, fun-loving personality and was always pulling pranks and spending time with his friends playing pool at Shorty Warner's Store. Donnie was a hard worker and a great big brother. He picked on me a lot, but also taught me many useful things like how to work on his beloved 1957 Chevy. He worked so hard to get money to go out on weekends or to add something to his car.
After graduation from high school, he went to work at Westinghouse in Byesville, Ohio until he was drafted into the Army. After Basic Training he was sent to Vietnam, where he spent 14 months in country. He always knew we worried about him, so he was good to send letters and cassette recordings regularly. As difficult as that time was for all of us and especially him, he never lost his sense of humor. One day a box arrived from him addressed to me. When I opened it, inside was a giant fork and spoon set measuring about 3 feet tall. They were such unique pieces to hang on the wall, and when I told him that, he said he thought I needed to eat with themI
After returning home it was mere months before his diagnosis and his health declined. Through it all, he still kept that sense of humor and spent many hours with friends and family over the years playing cards and doing hobby crafts to keep his mind sharp.