DOUG BURKHEAD – AUG. 31, 1942 – OCT. 3, 2021

Douglas Wayne Burkhead, 79, of Henderson passed away Oct. 3, 2021 at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, at Shackelford Funeral Directors – Crook Avenue Chapel with Bro. Ken Frye officiating. Burial with Military Honors will follow in Hearn’s Chapel Cemetery. The family received friends at Crook Avenue from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Friends of Chickasaw State Park or Friends of Pinson Mounds.
He was born Aug. 31, 1942 in Pinson, the son of the late L.T. and Jessie Melvina Ridley Burkhead. He grew up in Chester County and graduated from Chester County High School in 1960. He later graduated from Jackson State Community College in 1984 with an Associate of Science Degree in Psychology. He joined the U.S. Navy in January 1961 and served in active duty until 1963. He then joined the U.S. Naval Reserve until 1976. Upon his discharge from the Naval Reserve he enlisted in the TN Army National Guard retiring in 2002 as Staff Sergeant. He received many citations and awards during his military career. In addition to his military career, he worked for the USPS as a mail carrier from 1966 until 1986 when he retired. 
He was also extremely civic minded, serving as Henderson City Alderman and Chester County Commissioner; was a life member of the VFW; served as Treasurer for the Friends of Chickasaw State Park, Charter Vice President for the Chester County Historical Society and Chaplain of the Britton Lane Battlefield Association; was a Founding Member, President and Past President of the Parkers Crossroads Battlefield Association; served on the Vo Tech School Committee for Henderson; and was a Life Member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, an active blood donor and a FreeMason.  He was a Baptist in Belief.  
He married Peggy Ann Braden in 1974, and she preceded him in death on July 24, 2003.
He married Patricia Reinhardt on Dec. 27, 2003, and they made their home in Henderson.   
He is survived by his wife, Pat Reinhardt Burkhead of Henderson; two sisters, a twin sister, Delores Hatch of Henderson and Helen (Daryl) Weaver of Burkburnett, Texas; a sister-law, Louise Burkhead;  two nephews, Wesley Weaver of Oklahoma and Chris Weaver of Colorado; his mother-in-law, Ruth Hyatt of Germany; brother-in-law, Ricky Hyatt of Germany; and a sister-in-law, Jo Ellen Dillon of Brookhaven, Miss.
He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Tommy Keith Burkhead and Mike Burkhead (2021); and a sister, Dorothy Turner.