Bruce Alan Burgett, 75

Bruce Alan Burgett, 75, of Carrollton, Ohio, and Wilmington, North Carolina, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, in Canton, Ohio, after a brief illness.

Bruce was born to Kenneth and Martha Burgett, of Hammondsville, Ohio, and grew up on the family dairy farm in Jefferson County, Ohio, with his three brothers, Gary, Keith, and Wesley. Keith and Wes survive.

He graduated from Stanton Local High School in 1966, where he played football and basketball, played in the concert band, and was editor of the Stanton Local High School yearbook. He then joined his brothers at Ohio State University, where he majored in Business Marketing. There he met and courted Crystal Lee, of Zanesville, Ohio. They married on December 20, 1969.

Bruce graduated from OSU in 1970 and was welcomed into the United States Army that summer. He did his basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and continued his service at Fort Riley and Fort Sam Houston. In their Army years, they became lifelong best friends with Vince and Sharon Raymond. In early 1972, they joined them in Augsburg, West Germany at Flak Kaserne. Crystal was able to join him there.

Professionally, Bruce was a General Manager in the Landmark and Countrymark Cooperative system from 1973 to 1998. He managed branches in Cadiz, Carrollton, and New Philadelphia until he retired from the company. In 2000, he returned to Carrollton to manage Carrollton Farmers Exchange until his retirement in 2015.

He and Crystal lived their last years together on their farm outside of Carrollton, where they raised cattle, worked on their home and farmyard, spent countless hours with their grandchildren and extended family. Their golden years were interrupted with Crystal’s serious illness and death in 2019.

Bruce found love again with Patti Olejniczak, and they were married on Jan. 15, 2022. They spent two years traveling and enjoying grandchildren and playing pickleball whenever and wherever they could.

Bruce is survived by his brothers, Wesley Burgett (Mary) of Hammondsville, Ohio, and Keith Burgett (Judith) of Carrollton, Ohio, his son, Jason Burgett (Melissa), of Wooster, Ohio, his daughter, Allison Burgett, of Dublin, Ohio, his grandchildren, Eleanor and Ethan Kristoff, and Joel, Benjamin, and Thomas Burgett. He is also survived by his wife, Patti Burgett, of North Carolina, Jill (Daniel) Scullion, Angie (Mike) Stephens, and Tracy (Nathan) Hudson, and his step-grandchildren, Kairo, Cape and Callie, Vera and Petra. He loved being Papa to all of them. He deeply loved Crystal’s brother, Don Lee (Mary), his nieces and nephews Terri, Beth, Marti, Phillip, Bryan, Marci, Tonya, Mindi, Brian, Andy, David, Toby and all of their children and families.

At the request of the family, a private graveside service was held at Zanesville Memorial Cemetery. A celebration of Bruce’s life is planned for Spring 2024 in Carrollton, Ohio.