Alexander Ray Burr, 94, passed away on December 28, 2014 in Herrin, Illinois.

He was born in Park Rapids, Minnesota on September 4, 1920 to Louis and Edna (Garwood) Burr. When he was 12, his family moved to Nebraska. Times were very hard during the Great Depression for his family, but he was able to complete the eighth grade before he began to do a man's work on a ranch. In his late teens he worked in the WPA/CCC program. He was drafted in 1941 and served in Europe during World War II. He recalled being in five major battles, including D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and the battle for St. Lo.

He courted his English wife, Joan Watts in Broadway, England, and they married on April 14, 1944. After the war, he, his wife, and baby daughter Barbara Ann settled in western Nebraska where he worked on ranches. They had a second daughter, Shirley Nadine, in 1950. In 1953, they moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Daughters, Elaine Beverly and Donna Rae were born in 1954 and 1960, respectively and daughter, Glenda Kay was born and died in 1962.
He worked underground for the Homestake Gold Mine for over 20 years, going from day laborer to being one of the best contract miners. He was hired by the government to be a federal mine inspector mainly in Colorado and Montana in his mid-fifties. He, his wife, and daughter, Donna Rae moved to Colorado in 1974. His favorite work stories after he retired at the age of 66 were of those years he spent inspecting mines and his early years working on ranches.
In 1987, he and his wife retired to Canon City, Colorado. In 1996, they moved back to Nebraska to live in Sidney near family. After his wife passed in 2005, he lived with his daughters.

He is survived by his four daughters, Mrs. Barbara (Riley Barker) James, Mrs. Shirley (Glenn) Gillette, Mrs. Elaine (Daryl) Guffey, and Mrs. Donna (David) Howard; his 18 grandchildren; his 42 great-grandchildren; his sister, Lucille Bruce and his brother, Virgil Burr. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Leonard, Willard, Alfred, Forrest, and Vernon Burr; his sister, Lois Kemp, and his granddaughter, Brittany Springer.

He worked hard to take took good care of his family, and he is dearly loved.

Funeral services will be at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, January 3, 2015 at the Lead-Deadwood Memorial Chapel in Lead. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. He will rest in peace next to his wife Joan at Mountain Lawn Cemetery west of Lead, South Dakota.

Arrangements are under the care of the Lead-Deadwood Memorial Chapel in Lead. Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com