Dr. R. Eugene Burley

Dr. R. Eugene Burley was born April 22, 1926, the fifth child of Ralph Burley and Janie A. Swinton Burley in Mount Dora, Florida. At an early age, he was baptized and united with the Greater Saint Mary’s Baptist Church in Mt. Dora, Florida. He was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Burley; mother, Janie A. Swinton Burley; sons, Arthur James Barret and Ronald Eugene Burley; grandson, Anthony Peak, Jr., and 14 of his siblings. Left to cherish his memory: his loving wife, whom he married on September 7, 1956, and remained inseparable until his passing. His children: Clearance Johnson, Leatrice Eulaia Burley Winfrey of Atlanta, Georgia, Ralean Le’ney Burley Peak; 2 sisters: Earnestine B. Jackson Williams of Jacksonville, FL and Mrs. Evelyn Mackey of Apple Valley, CA; grandchildren: Clearance Johnson, Jr., Carla Johnson, Carmen Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Ursula Winfrey Wright, Ebon Robinson, Charla Shephard, Nigel, Siaha, LaRue, Solomon (the Burley Boys), Aariel Smith, Emily Ransom, and Ralph Burley Peak; a host of great-grands and great-greatgrands, that really had his heart string; his beloved nieces, nephews, a, their offspring, other loving relatives, church family and friends. EDUCATION: Grade School: The Milner Rosenwald, Mt. Dora, Florida High School: Eustis Vocational, Eustis, Florida, 1945 Colleges: - City College of Phoenix, Arizona, 1953 - College of the Bible, Nashville, Tennessee B. Th., 1953-1957 - Rust College, Holly Springs, Mississippi B.S., 1958-1961 GRADUATE SCHOOLS: - Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia (Completed res. Work) Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, 1966-67 - I.T.C. Atlanta, Georgia, B.D. Program, 1966-67 - New York Theological Seminary, NY, NY, M. Div., S.T.M., 1976-1978 - Drew University, Madison, New York, D. Min. 1980-1982 - Lake Sumter Community College, Leesburg, Florida 1985 EXPERIENCE: - Army, 1945, drafted into the United States Air Force 1947-1950. Served as a coordinator director of the Career Guidance and Public Relations Board, Phoenix, AZ - Administrator of hiring and working with indigenous personnel, U.S. Air Force, Okinawa, 1951-52 CIVILIAN: Fifty-first year as minister and forty-five years as pastor. Churches - Everdale Baptist, Water Valley, MS Greater Bethany Baptist, Atlanta, GA Pleasant Grove Baptist Tabernacle, Brooklyn, NY Christ Disciple, Mount Dora, FL / Metropolitan Baptist, Cocoa, FL Piney Grove Baptist, Wildwood, FL. In 1985, he organized the First Institutional Church in Mount Dora, Florida (predominately Afro). In 1993, land was purchased, and a new edifice was built. 1995, the Chapel in the Park (for all faiths) in Clermont, FL.

Tributes

Dr. R. Eugene Burley

May 25, 1927 - December 17, 2025