Daniel Lee Burris

Daniel Lee Burris, age 100, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday morning, July 9, 2026. Having believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and been immersed into Christ on November 11, 1941, Dan spent the next eighty five years faithfully serving the One who had saved him. His greatest desire was that others would come to know Jesus as their Savior and Shepherd.

Dan was born on April 14, 1926, in a small rock house near Sidney, Nebraska. During the Dust Bowl years, his family moved to Southern California seeking a better life. When he was thirteen, his parents divorced, leaving Dan largely on his own through his teenage years.Those difficult beginnings became the foundation upon which God would build a life of remarkable faith and perseverance.

At seventeen, Dan enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. While serving, a chief petty officer asked him a simple question that changed the direction of his life: "Did you graduate from high school?" Determined to improve his future, Dan earned his GED and later used the GI Bill to attend Cal Aero Technical Institute, becoming a Master Aviation Mechanic and pilot. A career with Flying Tiger Freight Lines awaited him, but God had other plans.

Before beginning that job, Dan accepted an invitation to visit friends in San Bernardino, where he was encouraged to attend Minnesota Bible College for one year. That decision would forever change his life; it was there he met Esther Bartow. When Dan proposed, Esther replied, "I came to Bible College to become a missionary, and I will not settle for anything less than a preacher." God used those words to confirm His calling on Dan's life. Dan and Esther were married on December 21, 1948, beginning seventy seven years of marriage and ministry together.

Following graduation, Dan ministered to churches in Green Bay, Wisconsin, La Habra, California, Taft, California, and Lebanon, Oregon.Yet his heart carried a burden for the lost who had never heard the Gospel, and he longed to take the message of Christ wherever God would send him. On March 11, 1969, that calling led Dan and his family to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where they served as missionaries, preaching the Gospel and discipling believers they grew to dearly love.

After returning to the United States, Dan served as a professor at Puget Sound Christian College, preparing young men and women for Christian service. Later, Dan and Esther served as missionaries in the Philippines before concluding their vocational ministry at Mountlake Terrace Christian Church in Washington. Whether preaching from a pulpit, teaching in a classroom, or repairing an airplane, Dan's purpose never changed: he loved Jesus Christ, believed the Bible without reservation,and carried a lifelong burden for the lost who needed the Good Shepherd.

Dan was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He is survived by his beloved wife of seventy seven years, Esther Burris, his children Stephen Eugene Burris, Martha Jean Burris, Linda Gail Burris, and Donna Beth Stroop, eight grandchildren, and twenty one great grandchildren. His family was one of God's greatest blessings, and nothing brought him greater joy than seeing each generation walk with the Lord.

One of Dan's favorite Scriptures was Isaiah 49:16: "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." That promise sustained him throughout his life and has now become reality; the Savior whose hands bear these scars of redemption has welcomed His faithful servant home.

His influence lives on in the students he taught, the churches he served, the missionaries he encouraged, and the countless men and women who continue to share the Gospel because of his example. Though his earthly journey has ended, his witness continues, and his family rejoices in the sure hope that they will see him again.

"Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” Matthew 25:21.