Obituary

Burrell Alonzo Hamilton, (1936-2019) lived a full life while traveling this earth.  A native of Sand Springs, he chose to raise his family here as well.   He and Shirley Osborn met in the 50s and spent 54 years together.  They had many adventures through the years, (including dad getting in trouble for racing down Charles Page Blvd on their first date) traveling for both drag races and vacations.   Even when Burrell would go out fishing (his favorite past time), Shirley would go with him and read a book.  Okay, dad preferred going fishing with his buddies more, as he just didn’t understand reading a book instead of wetting a line.

Burrell worked at Admire Auto Parts as Parts Manager for many years, followed by Sales Manager at R-K Motors.  Many Christmas mornings he would be delivering cars to clients’ homes and also for anniversaries.  Dad was great at helping to make those surprises happen.

If there was something adventurous around, Burrell was giving it his all.  Drag Racing, auto mechanics, bowling, boating, camping, motorcycles, flying, and fishing were a few of his past times.  

He spent several years racing rail dragsters.  Burrell would work during the day come home, pack, and head out to the racetrack.  When he returned, Shirley would breakdown the engine and he’d rebuild it at night, prepping for the next weekend.  After landing in jail for street racing on his first date with Shirley, the drag strip seemed a better choice!   Burrell always had a boat of some type too – fishing being his all-time favorite.  When his wife was in the hospital, he arranged for the new den to have a shelf around ½ the room.  This held his racing and bowling trophies. 

Burrell was always ready to help someone, he never met a stranger, with mechanical issues.  He had a knack for listening to an engine and knowing what to tweak to make it hum… If you broke down at the side of the road, he would go get you – tow you back – and help you fix the issue.

In the earlier years he had ski boats to help pull all us kids around Keystone Lake.  It was not unusual for there to be eleven kids waiting their turn behind the boat.  He loved his old Cushman motorcycle and would ride around the neighborhood with a big smile on his face.  When camping and traveling in the summers, he carried at least two motorcycles on his truck or motorhome so he could ride around and explore.  A couple of times, this got him in trouble but he felt it was worth it.   

Burrell spent many hours in a bass boat fishing tournaments.  He hit all the lakes in northeast Oklahoma as well as at Toledo Bend and Fork Lake in Spring, Tx.  He enjoyed taking Lexie and Tonya fishing whenever they would join him.

One year, Sand Springs had a HUGE amount of snow so Burrell and some friends built a super big wooden sled and pulled the neighborhood kids all around.  He loved trying to keep up with the younger crowd. Unfortunately, this resulted in a broken wrist while skating crack-the-whip with all the kids from church on their roller skating night.  On Halloween he and our neighbor, Leon Harris, would sit between the houses and watch for the kids with bulging pockets – eggs – and run up behind them and bust the eggs in their pockets.  Yes, Burrell lived life to the fullest and he left this world in his way too.  Independent!

Burrell was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley E. Osborn Hamilton, parents – Jesse & Jewel Hamilton, and brother Harvey Hamilton.  He is survived by his daughters Lexie M. Johnson, Tonya E. Huffman & Denise Warner.  Grandchildren Genny Wilkerson and Will Huffman, Stacey (Steve) Pistorius. & Chris Johnson.  One Great Grandchild – Mya Johnson.Visitation will be 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm Tuesday, January 22, 2018 at the Butler-Stumpff & Dyer Chapel, 2103 East 3rd Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Family will receive friends from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Funeral Services will be 1:00 pm Wednesday January 23, 2019 at the Angus Church, 4401 South 129th West Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma. His final resting place will be Oak Hill Cemetery in Mannford, Oklahoma.