06/04/2026
Cecil Louis Burch was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 17, 1937 to Leland Clarence Burch and Daphna Aretta Burch. He passed from this life on June 3, 2026, at the age of: 88 years 11 months 17 days.
The family will receive friends from 5:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M., Friday, June 5, 2026, at Boxwell Brothers Funeral Home, 2800 Paramount Blvd. Services will be at 10:00 A.M., Saturday, June 6, 2026, at North Amarillo Church of Christ, 801 NE 15th Ave. Burial will follow at Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors.
He married Barbara Jean Arnold, his childhood sweetheart, on June 23, 1955, and was married to her for almost 71 years.
He began his life living in a one room log cabin in Northern New Mexico. There was no electricity and their cabin was lighted by a coal oil lamp.
His means of transportation was a little brown and white Indian paint pony that he rode to school in Lindrith, New Mexico.
He attended the first grade in a one room school house where one teacher taught grades one through six. There were six rows of desks one for each grade. The family then moved to Espanola, New Mexico, where he attended the McCurdy School and then transferred to the Espanola Public schools. When he was in the 10th grade the family moved to Moriarty, New Mexico, where he attended the eleventh grade. The family then moved to Garden City, Kansas, where he graduated from High School.
He later graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, with a double major, one in Bible and one major in History. He did graduate work in the field of education at ENMU Portales, New Mexico and Southwestern State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
In his 67+ years of preaching, he preached for the Churches of Christ in New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
While in College at ENMU, he and his wife Barbara worked at the New Mexico Christian Children's Home as House-parents, where he was printer for the Children's Home press and trained several boys in the printing trade. While there he preached for the Church of Christ in San Jon, New Mexico.
He, his wife Barbara and three children, David, Diane, and Debra, moved to Oklahoma where he preached for the church of Christ in Sweetwater, and also taught the fifth grade in Reydon, Oklahoma public school. One year he taught his sister Betty, a challenge for both of them. While in Sweetwater a fourth child, Donna, was born in the nearby town of Sayre, Oklahoma.
He and his little family then moved to Hollis, Oklahoma where he became the Assistant Superintendent of Westview Boys' Home.
He worked at Westview for over six years and attended the Church of Christ in Hollis where he was selected as one of the Elders for the church and served as Secretary/treasurer for the Elders.
While living in Hollis two children, Darla and Danny, were added to his little family.
He then moved to Amarillo, Texas where he became the Superintendent of High Plains Children's Home and director of Christian Haven Maternity Home for u***d mothers. He served as Superintendent for fourteen years.
The Home served dependent, neglected and abused children and placed children for adoption. He was proud that he was able to place the four hundredth child for adoption just before he resigned as Superintendent.
As of this date, he placed more children for adoption than anyone in the history of High Plains Children's Home. Some of the children from each of the three children's homes and some of the children placed for adoption have stayed in contact with him over the last sixty plus years.
After retiring from High Plains, he became Vice President and also later President & CEO of the Westview Foundation-associated with Westview Boys' Home.
In 1984 while preaching at the Eastridge Church of Christ he began working with the Asian refugees from Laos. He and Manorath Makkahavane worked together and taught and baptized over a 100 of the Laotian refugees.
While he was preaching for the North Amarillo Church of Christ, and serving as one of the elders, the refugees from Burma/Myanmar began moving into the north Amarillo area. Within a few months 5 busses were purchased to bring the Karen speaking people, from Burma, to worship at North Amarillo Church of Christ. He loved working with T.L. Inthavong and Thepha Kaewhamharn with the Asians. He often said that the Asian people were some of the sweetest people he ever worked with.
When the state of Texas began building prisons in the Amarillo area, Cecil was selected as the first director of the Prison Ministry for the Churches of Christ. His responsibilities were to develop the prison ministry program that included raising funds to support the work, working with the Chaplain Department, getting mentors including his daughter Diane to mentor women prisoners, setting up worship services and teaching Bible Classes in the prisons. He and Glen Walton worked together in developing the program. Over the years He and Chaplain Houska of the Neal Unit became great friends.
While working with the prisons he taught and baptized hundreds of inmates.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Leland and Daphna Burch; his brother, Clarence Lee Burch; his twin brother; his grandson, JR Vaughn; granddaughter, Erica Wise; and his great-granddaughter, Edith Grace Yates.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Jean Burch of the home; his three brothers, Loy Duane Burch and wife, Mary, of Christiansburg, Virginia, Paul David Burch of Clovis, New Mexico, and Ricky Leon Burch and wife, Kathy, of Elk City, Oklahoma: his two sisters, Betty Ann Mayfield, and husband, Bruce, of Colony, Oklahoma, and Brenda Kaye Gray, and husband, Tom, of Yukon, Oklahoma; his six children, David Louis Burch and wife, Karin, of Amarillo, Texas, Diane Lee Copeland and husband, Chuck, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Debra Jean Burch of Amarillo, Texas, Donna Gayle Wise and husband, Gary, of Amarillo, Texas, Darla Faye Waldron and husband, Jim, of Casper, Wyoming, Danny Paul Burch and wife, Cissy, of Amarillo, Tx; his 16 grandchildren; his 37 great-grandchildren; and numerous other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
The family would like to thank the Harrington Cancer Center and BSA Hospice Care of the Southwest, and suggests memorials honoring Cecil with a donation to a charity of your choice or to any of these organizations:
North Amarillo Church of Christ
PO Box 5375, Amarillo, TX 79117
Harrington Cancer Center
1751 Wallace Blvd., Amarillo, TX 79106
New Mexico Christian Children’s Home
1356 NM 236, Portales, NM 88130
