Oscar Burris Jr.

OSCAR BURRIS

Thomas Oscar Burris, Jr., a native of Columbus, MS, and a long time resident of Jackson died on September 23, 2020, at age 98, two weeks shy of his 99 ^th birthday.  Graveside services will be Saturday, September 26, 2020, at 2:00 PM at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, MS, with Rev. Todd Matocha officiating.  A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2020, at 10:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS.  Memorial Gunter Peel Funeral Home & Crematory 903 College St. location of Columbus, MS, is in charge of arrangements.

Oscar graduated from Lee High School in Columbus and later from Vanderbilt University where he was a member of the track, cross-country and wrestling teams.  He later received a law degree from the University of Virginia and a Master in Business from Harvard.  He would gladly with minimal encouragement, after a few glasses of wine, execute the Harvard cheer.  He proudly served in the U. S. Navy in WWII as an officer on a destroyer escort in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.

Oscar also served as an officer with the Lamar Life Insurance Company in Jackson for most of his professional life and also served on the Board of Directors of Irby Construction Company and the Stuart C. Irby Companies for over 30 years.  Oscar was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Jackson and served as a deacon for over 25 years.

He was a long time runner which he truly enjoyed and was a member of the Mississippi Senior Olympics Hall of Fame and at one time held seven Senior Gold Medals for different age groups.  He was an active and hugely successful member of the Mississippi Track Club and participated in numerous races throughout the southeast.  In the opinion of the esteem members of the Pocohontas Drinking, Debating and Trotting Society of which he was a founding member, Oscar was without equal in so many ways, a genteel man with which all were honored to share his company.  He was kind, generous, modest and a joy to be around.

Oscar was predeceased by his wife, Cleo Porter Burris, step-son, Daniel James “Danny” Henley, and his beloved sister, Virginia Burris Boyd Bonner, his niece, Virginia Montague “Monty” Boyd Hatcher, and his great niece, Emily Elizabeth Swanner.  He is survived by his nephew, William “Craddock” Boyd, Jr. and his nieces, Mary Thomas “Tee” Pittman (Terre), Rebecca Stuart “Becky” Boyd, and great nieces and nephews, William Craddock “Bill” Boyd, III, Keylon Thomas “Key” Pittman (Camille), Coby Terrell Pittman, Campton Stuart Pittman, Mary Virginia “Jenny” Carroll (Blake), and Forrest Chandler Hatcher.