Guy Burrell Jr.

Guy Joseph Burrell, Jr. was born January 27, 1941, in New Orleans, Louisiana to his parents, Guy Joseph Burrell Sr. and Corine Burrell. He was the third child and first son of 15 children, born in the family. He was raised with his brothers and sisters: Allan Burrell, Alton Burrell, Andrew Burrell, Glenn Burrell, Karl Burrell, Lloyd Burrell, Perry Burrell, Faith Weber, Grace Burrell, Judy Frasier, Karen Lamotte, Rena Coleman, Sonia Rubin and Sybil Joseph. Guy united in matrimony September 19, 1964 to the former Mary Ann Haydel at St. John’s the Baptist Catholic Church in Edgard, LA. They met while in high school. From this union they had one daughter, Latrice Venice Burrell and one son, Guy Joseph Burrell, III. Guy graduated from Second Ward High School in 1959 and went on to attend college at Southern University in New Orleans, LA. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on February 1, 1963 and served until January 31, 1967; he was stationed at Sherman AFB in Clinton, OK. Upon discharged from the military he and Mary Ann relocated to Denver, CO, in 1967. He worked with family members Herbert Bossier, Jake Pierre and Leon Pierre to establish a co-op and fish market in Denver, CO in the early 1970’s. He worked at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal as a lab technician, USPS as clerk, the State of Colorado and King Soopers Grocery Store as a clerk. As a child he liked exploring behind the levies, fishing and playing baseball. As a young adult, he worked in a local bar cooking, bartending and serving patrons. He managed a general store in the parish. He bought his first car, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, at 16 years old. He would want you all to know that he along with his cousins established the custom of building and burning a bonfire on the levy, after midnight mass on Christmas Eve, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, which has become a tradition now. He was also very civic minded and worked on voter registration and political campaigns during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Guy had varied interests. He liked playing softball and tennis; he was a very good athlete. Other hobbies included nature photography, music, reading and cooking. He was competitive in cooking. His signature dish was chicken fricassee (aka: stewed chicken) and potato salad. And he insisted no one made it better than he did. Guy wanted to be a fiction writer. He believed in aliens and UFOs and his favorite genre of music was jazz. He was a New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders football fan! Some of his favorite movies included: Dirty Dancing, Independence Day, Selena, The Pelican Brief & Miracle on 34th Street. And, some of his favorite music was: Dirty Dancing Soundtrack, It’s Still Okay to Dream/Compilation for Save the Children, Song for My Father/Horace Silver, The Dude/Quincy Jones, Give Love At Christmas/The Temptations. He is preceded in death by his father Guy J. Burrell Sr., his mother, Corine Burrell, two brothers Alton Burrell and Glenn Burrell and his sister, Rena Coleman. Guy Joseph Burrell Jr. departed this life on June 30, 2018. Those left to cherish his memory and mourn his loss include his wife, Mary Ann Burrell, his daughter, Latrice V. Burrell, and his son, Guy Joseph Burrell, III, of Denver, CO. Two grandsons, Austin Christopher Williams, of Kansas City, MO and Gabriel Ethan Mathena, of Indianapolis, IN; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell - 6601 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO
Service: 7/12/2018 at 10:00 AM - Holy Ghost Catholic Church - 1900 California Street, Denver, Colorado
Cemetery: 7/12/2018 at 12:30 PM Staging Area B Ft. Logan National Cemetery - 4400 W. Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO