Willie Thomas (Tom) Burtch

Willie Thomas (Tom) Burtch, a 79-year-old Chula resident, passed away on Thursday, July 8, 2021, at his residence.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at the First Baptist Church of Meadville.
Open visitation is under way at Lindley Funeral Home of Chillicothe until 8 p.m. on Monday, July 12, 2021.
Burial will be held at Mount Olive Cemetery, under the direction of Lindley Funeral Home.
Tom was born on Jan. 22, 1942 in Chillicothe, the son of Willie and Mary Helen Kimbrough Burtch. He was a 1960 graduate of Meadville R-4 School and attended college at Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville.
Tom was united in marriage to the love of his life, Linda Belle Cooper on July 7, 1963, at the First Baptist Church of Meadville. They shared 58 years together and she survives of the home.
Tom and his father owned and operated Burtch Farms. He was a member of the Mount Olive Baptist Church at Purdin and served as president of the board for Mount Olive Cemetery. Tom was the president of the Linn-Livingston Public Water District at Wheeling. He was a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation in Chillicothe, where he helped establish scholarships for students. He also served on the Meadville R-4 School Board and was a member of the North Missouri Sportsman’s Alliance. Tom loved to hunt and fish. He also enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, teaching them how to hunt and fish, and play school sports.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, Mendi Grannemann and her husband, Larry of Williamsburg, Tony Burtch and his wife, Nancy of Chillicothe and Holly Boxley and her husband, Blake of Princeton; five grandchildren, Ben, Tucker and Sadie Burtch and Cooper and Evan Boxley; two step-grandchildren, Billy (Melanie) and Sybil Grannemann; a sister-in-law, Cheryl Cooper of Chandler, AZ; and two brothers-in-law, George Cooper and his wife, Joy of Grain Valley, and Richard Cooper and his wife, Linda of Meadville.
He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents and a brother-in-law, David Cooper.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mount Olive Cemetery and/or Mount Olive Baptist Church and may be left at or mailed to Lindley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, MO 64601.