Richard Allison Burger

Richard “Richie” Burger of Henderson, Nevada, passed away on May 19, 2021 shortly after his 82nd birthday. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Elizabeth “Betty” Burger (née Lewis) and daughter Denise “Dee” Lynn Van der Elst.

He was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on May 11, 1939, to George “Al” and Norma Burger who then moved with him as a baby to Staten Island, New York. In 1962, he joined the US Navy and served aboard the USS Intrepid, now the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. He proudly talked of his service aboard, climbing high up the wavering antenna to do maintenance, and witnessing the retrieval of the Mercury mission space capsule for which the Intrepid was the recovery ship. It was while on leave that he met Betty at the stock car races at Weissglass Stadium in Staten Island and asked her out for coffee. They were married on February 19, 1966, and raised three daughters, Kathy, Dee and Suzie in Staten Island.

He worked for 29 years as an electronics engineer at Con Edison power plant in Staten Island, frequently being called in for overtime because of his work ethic and expertise at what he did. He retired from ConEd in 1995 when he and Betty moved to Nevada, but he continued to work at Timet in Henderson before finally retiring in 2010.

He had many activities and hobbies that he was passionate about. Starting as a young man with a thrill for driving through automobile obstacle course races, he moved onto his biggest lifelong hobby as a Corvette enthusiast, with his first one being a 1960 black Corvette convertible. Later, he also owned a 1977 Stingray and most recently a 1999 Corvette. He was an avid bicyclist all his life, often cycling to work in Staten Island, and until recently enjoyed the bike path at the railroad trail in Henderson by his house, recording thousands of miles. He enjoyed being busy with electronics and car repairs, and always did his own repairs and body work, never taking his cars to the shop. He was frequently consulted by neighbors for his expertise and gave his daughters their own real tools and toolbox when they were young so they could join him while he tinkered.

In later years, he and Betty enjoyed cruises, Disney trips and travel to Egypt, Switzerland, Italy, and France, with their daughters and grandchildren.

Richie is survived by his oldest daughter Kathleen Anne Burger, son-in-law Moataz El Hout and their children Youssef and Laila “Lily”; and youngest daughter Suzanne Smith, son-in-law Samuel Smith, and their children Talia and Trevor. He also loved and was loved by family across the world: his sister Gladys Nichols in Alaska, sister-in-law Diane Lewis in Staten Island, brother-in-law Raymond Lewis in Florida; nieces and nephews, Kim Davis in Washington State, Catherine Ann “Katie” Figueroa in Indiana, Emily Lewis-Torres in North Carolina and her siblings Ray and Cindy, James Lewis in Staten Island, Joseph Lewis in Staten Island along with their spouses and children; and as well the El Hout and Abdoun families in Egypt and California.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 am, June 23, 2021 at Palm Boulder Highway, 800 S. Boulder Hwy, Henderson, NV 89015 with interment immediately following.