Virgil Michael Burkett

BURKETT, Virgil Mike, age 96, passed away at the VA Hospice Unit on September 16, 2023. Mike was born on March 22, 1927, to the late Mose and Frieda (Wolfe) Burkett in Dayton, OH. He attended Pasadena School in (Beavertown), what is now Kettering, OH. He took a position at Gerstner and Sons making fine wood tool chests. He entered the Army and served as Quartermaster in a hospital in Japan. After the war he worked at National Cash Register and then the Chevrolet Truck Plant. He lived his life in service and devotion to his family and community. His ties to family were very strong. He loved going to the farm and helping with mowing the waterways. When his Dayton Daily News came, he read it from front to back every day. He would comment that “I read the obituaries first to see if I am in there”. He loved watching old cowboy movies and TV programs. Mike had a strong work ethic and didn’t miss work even when his truck was stolen, and he was laid off; all in the same day. Maybe this was when he adopted his favorite joke about Bob Hope, “Do you know who Bob Hope is? Well, I am his brother, No Hope.” And he would laugh. Dad was thrifty and always kept a clean and shiny car. He loved being around family and always enjoyed the kids. Mike is preceded in death by his loving wife of 69 years, Norma Jean (Davis) Burkett; daughter, Nancy Boude; sister, Caroline Bennett; nephew, Stanley Bennett. Mike is survived by his children, Mike (Becky) Boude and Judy (Rick) Jobst; grandchildren, Michele (Joe) Downs, Brian Boude, Sarah (Kenny) Clayton, Matthew (Brandi) Jobst; great-grandchildren, Jesse (Ashley) Boude, Bailey Boude, Kennedi Boude, Addison Boude, Emily Clayton, Tripp Clayton, John Cooper Clayton; great-great-grandchildren; Jesse Michael Boude, Elaine Rose Boude, Harper Nicole Boude. A visitation will be held from 10-11am on Monday, September 25, 2023, at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Rd. Kettering, OH 45429, with the funeral service starting at 11am. A reception will be held at 1pm at Routsong Funeral Home following the service. Final resting place is Valley View Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dayton Children’s Hospital.