Henry McKenzie Burt, Jr.

Henry McKenzie Burt, Jr., 86, of Anniston, passed away on December 6. Mr. Burt, "Mack" to all who knew him, was a native of Talladega. He was a resident of Anniston for the last 54 years. Mack was a graduate of Talladega High School and attended Auburn University where he earned a B.S in Mechanical Engineering. While at Auburn he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity. Upon graduation he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and served in the Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He continued his education with post-graduate work at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Georgia State University, Emory University, and the London Business School.His business career included both domestic and international assignments at United States Steel, Brown-Teledyne Engineering, and Scientific-Atlanta, Inc. His last position with Scientific-Atlanta was Group Vice President, Equipment Systems Group, during which time he had responsibilities for facilities in Anniston; Atlanta; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Prague, Czechoslovakia. Much of Mack's business experience involved turning failing businesses into healthy ones. In 1983 Mack led a group of investors to purchase Southern Tool Incorporated in Oxford, Alabama, from Scientific-Atlanta. He served as Chairman and CEO at Southern Tool until his retirement in 1999. He was instrumental in building the company into a major investment casting business, at the time the second largest of its type nationally, employing over 500 people in the local area when he retired. Mr. Burt was active in professional and community affairs. He was a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Alabama; president of his national trade association, the Investment Casting Institute, after retirement being made an honorary lifetime member; a member of the International Business fellows; a member of the Board of Directors of Southtrust Bank in Anniston and later in Birmingham; and a member and Vice-Chair of Stringfellow Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees. He served in a leadership role in founding what is now the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, and was a past recipient of the Calhoun County Industrialist of the Year award. He served on numerous boards, including the Boy Scouts of America, United Way, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and the Anniston Rotary Club. After many years on the Stringfellow Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, he was instrumental in negotiations that leased Stringfellow Hospital and was part of the leadership that established the Community Foundation of Anniston, now known as The Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama. He was its first chairman. A lifelong devotee to Auburn University he, along with his wife Rebecca, established an engineering scholarship in the name of their late daughter Mary Rozelle Burt Lentjes. Mack also endowed a professorship in the College of Engineering. He was a member of the Sanford Society, the Ginn Society, the George Petrie Society, and the 1856 Society. He was a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association. Mr. Burt was a long-time member of The Church of Saint Michael and All Angels where he served multiple terms on the vestry and as Junior Warden and Senior Warden. He was intimately involved in the restoration and maintenance of the 1888 buildings and was instrumental in numerous restoration projects at St. Michael's. He and his wife Rebecca sponsored and directed the restoration of the chapel as well as the design and construction of the Charles E. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Garden. Mr. Burt also instigated and led the project to repair and restore all the church's stained glass windows through memorial donations. Mack's personal and business philosophy was that life's successes and satisfactions revolve around love of and respect for your fellow man. He was fond of family, laughter, friends, fishing, travel and his tomato growing prowess. On business and on personal trips with his wife he traveled most of the United States, Europe and the Far East. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Rebecca Rozelle Burt; his son, William Morris Burt and his wife, Sharon; three grandchildren, Rebecca Lentjes of the University of Kentucky, William Lentjes, and his wife, Dana, and Jack Lentjes, all of Atlanta; son-in-law, David Lentjes of Atlanta; and step-granddaughter Elizabeth Sellers Myrick, Dustin Myrick, sons Nolan and Reece of Birmingham; and his faithful dog Woodrow. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Rozelle Burt Lentjes, his parents Lucy and Henry Burt of Talladega, and his brother Walter McArthur Burt. Memorial services will be held at The Church of St. Michael and All Angels on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 11:00 am. Private interment will be at a later date at the family plot in Talladega. The family suggests memorials to The Church of Saint Michael and All Angels or the Salvation Army.
K.L. Brown Memory Chapel
620 Golden Springs Road
Anniston, AL 36207
(256) 231-2334