Bill is survived by his wife, Laura Frances; children, Jeffrey Burnett and Beth Patterson; siblings, Ken Burnette of Memphis, Mary Rentrop of Memphis, Shannon Anders of Cape Girardeau, and Sarah Frates of Houston; grandchildren, Cole Patterson, Laura Kate Patterson, Clara Burnett, William Burnett, and Marigold Burnett. He is preceded in death by his siblings Zilpha Birk, Kelly Burnette, Wells Burnette, and Rachel Burnette.
Bill was born on December 21, 1931 in Mayfield, Kentucky to the Rev. Voris H. and Lucille Burnette. He graduated from Jackson High School in 1949. He graduated from Lambuth College with ten varsity letters in baseball, basketball, and tennis. After Lambuth he served in the U. S. Air Force. He received a masters degree in microbiology from Vanderbilt University. Bill graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1962 and completed his surgical residency at the University of Virginia, where he was chief surgical resident. He was Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Virginia and Chief of Surgery at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Salem, Virginia. After returning to Jackson, Bill worked at the Jackson Clinic and later became chief of surgery. He was also chief of surgery at Jackson Madison County General Hospital and a surgical instructor for the University of Tennessee medical resident program.
He married Laura Frances Burnett (née Ray), his college sweetheart in 1953. The couple welcomed two children into their home. His children remember him as a kind and patient father and grandfather.
Bill was an active and dedicated member of the First United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday school and volunteered for many missions. He participated in ten missions to Oklahoma, two to Mexico, two to Jamaica, two to Nicaragua, one to Costa Rica, one to Belize, and one to Moskow and Estonia. He worked on over twenty projects with Habitat for Humanity and was the project director for twelve. Bill volunteered with the Regional Inter-Faith Association of Jackson and served on its board.
Bill played basketball for the Dixie Dandies, a semi-professional basketball team. He was a brakeman for the Illinois Central Railroad. In 2012 Bill published a historical novel depicting surgery during the Civil War.
A funeral is scheduled for 3:00 pm Tuesday Oct. 2 at the First United Methodist Church in Jackson. Visitation will proceed the service from 1:00 until 3:00 at the church. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Bill's life. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Habitat for Humanity at https://www.habitat.org/support. The family would like to thank the staff at Jackson Madison County General Hospital for their dedication.
