John Benjamin Burnett, Jr.

John Benjamin ?Benjy? Burnett, Jr., age 65, passed away on October 28, 2007, after a long battle with melanoma. Benjy was born on August 20, 1942, and was the son of John Benjamin and Mary Loftis Burnett. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Joan Andrews Burnett. He leaves behind two daughters and sons-in-law, Mandy Burnett and husband, Brian Hamrick Jones of Richmond and Anna and husband, Richard Scearce Riddle, Jr., of Danville; three grandsons ? Benjamin Carter Jones and Andrew Howard Jones of Richmond and Richard Scearce ?Tripp? Riddle, III, of Danville; a brother, James Richard Burnett and wife Lise of Clarksville; and several nieces and nephews. Benjy was a l964 graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where he led the golf team that won the North State Conference three times and finished second in the nation in the NAIA twice. Benjy was the individual conference champion in l962. He also received an MBA from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Rehabilitative Service in 1968. Following his graduation, Benjy embarked upon a long career in public and community service, working with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services as a Rehabilitation Counselor until his retirement in 2003. He was a member of the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association, the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Advisory Board, the Administrative Advisory Committee, and Chairman of the Disabilities Services Board. In 2003 he was awarded the A.R. Dawson Humanitarian Award. Benjy also served his community in many ways. From 1988 to 1996, he was a member of the Clarksville Town Council, and he served as Mayor of Clarksville from 1996 to 2004. He also was a member of the Southside Virginia Planning Commission and the Clarksville-Lake Country Chamber of Commerce and served as Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party. In 2001, he was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Conservation and Recreation, and in 2004, the Clarksville-Lake Country Chamber of Commerce recognized his service to the community by presenting him with the Kathleen Walker Lifetime Achievement Award. An avid golfer, Benjy spent much of his life on the links of his beloved Kinderton Country Club, where he served as President in 1977. Benjy won the KCC Club Championship 6 times, first in 1976 and then in 1986, 1987, and 1988. He won again in 2003, making him, at 61, the oldest member ever to win the Club Championship. He served the Virginia State Golf Association as the Piedmont Sectional Chairman 1975-1989 and continued to be an active supporter of the VSGA and its programs. A kind, gentle man with a huge heart, Benjy?s life loves were his friends, the game of golf, his canine companions, his community, and most of all, his family. He will be deeply missed by all those who knew him and whose lives he made better. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Friday, November 2, at Clarksville Baptist Church, with burial to follow at Gravel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Watkins Cooper Lyon Funeral Home from 6:00 ? 9:00 PM on Thursday, November 1, and at other times at the home of his brother, Richard Burnett, at 298 Rose Hill Avenue in Clarksville. Flowers are acceptable, but the family suggests memorial contributions to the Lake Country SPCA, PO Box 14, Clarksville, VA 23927.