Charles Burford

Burford, Charles Elmore was born April 28, 1932, in Lindsay, Oklahoma, and went home to be with the Lord on May 16, 2013. A longtime resident of Dallas, Charles was a gifted inventor, active business owner, and avid hunter. His parents, Eva Faye Webb Burford and Earl Elmore Burford and a brother, Leonard Wayne Burford, preceded him in death. Charles is survived by three children: Lisa Ann Burford Fullington and her husband Dr. Richard W. Fullington of Richardson, Elizabeth Burford Langford and her husband Robert Britton Langford of The Woodlands, and Charles Elmore Burford II and his wife Erica Driemeyer Burford of Plano. He was beloved “Bwana” to his three grandchildren: Robert Brooks Langford of Austin, Elizabeth Brynn Langford of The Woodlands, and Amanda Leigh Burford of Plano. Charles was a proud member of numerous hunting and conservation related organizations including Shikar-Safari Club International, Boone and Crockett Club, National Rifle Association, Dallas Gun Club (past Board member), Dallas Safari Club (founding member and past President), East African Professional Hunters Association (Honorary member), Ducks Unlimited, and Game Conservation International (TP&W Black Rhino and Desert Bighorn Sheep population projects). A creative entrepreneur responsible for several U.S. patents, Charles parlayed his most famous, now-everyday invention – the Twist Tie bread wrap closure – into a successful global business in commercial bakery equipment manufacturing, Burford Corporation, of Maysville, OK (see: www.burford.com). He was a member and active leader of several industry organizations including the Bakery Equipment Manufacturers Association, American Baker Association, and the American Institute of Baking. In 1976, Charles was appointed by the U.S. State Department to a delegation of food business executives who travelled to Poland, Russia, and Yugoslavia in a joint project with the U.S.S.R. Chamber of Commerce. In 2010, Charles was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Society of Baking. Charles was also honored to be a member of The Supreme Council of the 33rd and Last Degree of Current and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasons. He served many years as a leader of Troop 82 of the Boy Scouts of America, and he was a member of Park Cities Baptist Church.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, May 21, at 2:00 pm in Ellis Chapel of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and on Wednesday, May 22, at 1:00 pm at the First Baptist Church of Maysville. The family is especially appreciative of Yolanda Terry for her devoted caregiving in recent years. Honorary Pall Bearers: the late “Uncle Chuck” Ennis of San Antonio, the late George Barker of Athens, TX, (and all of his fellow JUGS), the late Ward Lay of Dallas, as well as Sam Rhodes, Edward Meise, Dr. Truman Clem, Dr. Jerry Cotner, Mike Langford, and Fred Springer as well as all of the dedicated employees of Burford Corporation. In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the Dallas Ecological Foundation or the charity of your choice.