| Sources |
- [S19] 1900 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
Name: Walter Burkhart
Home in 1900: Center, Monroe, Ohio
Age: 8
Birth Date: May 1892
Birthplace: Ohio
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relationship to Head of House: Son
Father's name: C Burkhart
Father's Birthplace: Ohio
Mother's name: Catharine Burkhart
Mother's Birthplace: Ohio
Marital Status: Single
- [S30] 1910 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S24] 1920 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S25] 1930 US Federal Census, (www.ancestry.com).
Name: Walter C Burkhart
Home in 1930: Militia District 216, Clarke, Georgia
View Map
Age: 38
Estimated birth year: abt 1892
Birthplace: Ohio
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Pearl Burkhart
Race: White
- [S891] World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917 - 1918, (www.ancestry.com).
- [S888] Social Security Death Index 1935 - Current, (www.ancestry.com).
Name: Walter C. Burkhart
SSN: 253-60-4426
Last Residence: 30606 Athens, Clarke, Georgia, United States of America
Born: 14 May 1892
Died: 6 Nov 1996
State (Year) SSN issued: Georgia (1956)
- [S927] Obituary.
Newspaper Clipping found in the estate of Kay Lang. No publishing info accompanied it but must have published around May 14, 1992 in Georgia.
Professor Emeritus Dr. Walter Burkhart Turns 100 Years Old
By M. A. Barnes, Staff Writer
Dr. Walter Clinton Burkhart, professor emeritus of medical microbiology at the University of Georgia, is 100 years old today, and this weekend 50 friends and relatives will come to Athens form all across the United States celebrate his birthday.
Born in Woodsfield, Ohio, on May 14, 1892, Burkhart taught at J. Ga. For 43 years before his retirement at age 67 ? 33 years ago.
During Burkhart?s teaching career, he is credited with teaching more student than any other professor at U. Ga. ?That?s because my course in bacteriology was a required course in five different colleges in the university,? he explained.
Burkhart got his degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State University in 1916. He was going to teach at Cornell University, but when an offer came from the University of Georgia, he accepted that position. He arrived in Athens in September of 1916, and has lived and worked here ever since.
? I?ve never had another job,? he laughs.
He began his career as an instructor, and during the 16 years he taught for the College of Agriculture, he became a professor of veterinary medicine.
? At that time,? he explained, ?I worked for the College of Agriculture, Veterinary Division. When the school reorganized in 1927, the vet school was abolished.
Burkhart then taught bacteriology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences for 23 years. The veterinary school was created again in 1946. Finally, in 1955, Burkhart moved over to the new veterinary school, where he spent the last four years of his teaching career.
In 1918, Burkhart married his childhood sweetheart, Pearl Pennington. They had met when he was just 13 years old. Her family moved to Woodsfield in 1905, and they went to school together from sixth grade to school together from sixth grade through high school. They were married for 60 years until her death in 1976.
The Burkharts had two daughters, Ann and Catherine. There are now two grandsons, one great-grandson and four great-granddaughters.
There is little about Burkhart?s demeanor or manner that indicates his age. He is active, has a clear memory and still has the distinct ability to teach and explain. He ahs no trouble expressing himself or making his thoughts know.
? I rally don?t feel old,? Says Burkhart. ?I guess I have what I?d call ?deterioritis.? My spine, my hearing and my sight got old, and no one will operate on someone who is 100.
? The trouble with the world today,? says Burkhart, ?is that there is too much to know, and everybody is talking about something they don?t know a durned thing about.
? In my day,? he continued, ?the teachers did the consulting. Now they hire consultants to tell them what?s wrong. They hire search committees. We made decisions because that was our job. The very idea of a department hiring people telling them how to run their departments.?
Most of the buildings at the university were built after Burkhart came to campus.
? When I came in 1916, the only building on the south campus was Conner Hall, except for a greenhouse, a powerhouse and a portion of Barrow Hal.
? People ask me how come I have lived so long. Well, I nave never deliberately done anything to prolong the longevity of my life. I do what?s right ? treat people right ? but I never did anything to extend life,? Burkhart said. ?do you want my opinion of why some people live long and some don?t?
? First you have to come from a long-lived family. Go to the cemeteries, and if your people lived 80-plus years, you?ve got genes that will help.
? Second is the environment in which one lives and the vocation one chooses. Hazardous living cuts life off?so if you like to drink and drive, you will more likely kill yourself and other innocents. And you won?t live long.
? And third ? be lucky!? He smile broadly. ?A little bit of luck never hurt anyone.?
Athens [Georgia] Daily News/Banner-Herald 7 Nov 1996
Dr. Walter Clinton Burkhart, 104, died Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1996.
A native of Woodsfield, Ohio, Dr. Burkhart was a son of the late Charles Burkhart and Catherine Long [sic-Lang] Burkhart. He was preceded in death by his wife, Pearl Pennington Burkhart.
Dr. Burkhart received his D.V.M. degree in 1916 from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, where he was member of Alpha Psi social fraternity. He came to Athens in 1916 as an instructor in bacteriology at the University of Georgia and also was director of the State Hog Cholera Virus and Serum Laboratory.
In 1933, the veterinary program was discontinued and Dr. Burkhart joined the College of Arts and Sciences, where he taught bacteriology and was head of the bacteriology department. His basic bacteriology class was a required class for students in five different colleges. In 1957, he joined the College of Veterinary Medicine and taught until his retirement in 1960 at the age of 67.
During his 44 years of teaching at the university he influenced many students who remember him today not only as an exceptional teacher but also as a man whose high standards required that they perform at their best.
Some of Dr. Burkhart's major contributions to science have been in the fields of hog cholera virus and serum production, bacterial examination of milk, control of infectious abortion in cattle, streptococci mastitis, protozoal disease of domestic animals, bacterial vaccines and white diarrhea of chickens.
Dr. Burkhart was nationally known and an outstanding man in the field of science. He was selected for "Who's Who, American Men of Science." He was a fellow in the American Association of Science for the Advancement of Science and was a member of the Society of American Bacteriologists.
He was a member of the Honorary Society of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Zeta. He was president of the South Eastern Branch of the Society of American Bacteriologists. He was a member of the Mount Vernon Lodge 22 F. and A.M. and completed 75 years in the Masonic fraternity. He served as first lieutenant in the Veterinary Corps in World War II.
The University of Georgia and the citizens of this state are indeed fortunate to have had a man of this caliber who devoted his entire life to the instruction of students and the advancement of science.
Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Friday in Oconee Hill Cemetery, with the Rev. Grady Wigley officiating.
Survivors include two daughters, Catherine B. Healey and Ann Burkhart; two grandsons, Charles S. Healey II and William Walter Healey; five great-grandchildren; a great great granddaughter; and several nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be Charles S. Healey, William W. Healy, T. Kevin Healey, Dr. James Keller, Warren Wilkinson, Dr. William Van Eseltine, S.E. Hogan and Ralph Smith.
The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Bridges Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Masonic Children's Home of Georgia, Secretary, Mount Vernon Lodge, P.O. Box 989, Athens, Ga. 30603.
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1892 - 1996 (104 years)
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