Bud Burrelle

Born Robert Emery Burrelle, Bud was dispatched for a final solo run to heaven early on July 17, 2009. He had probably just started a pot of coffee before going to start the tractor. Waiting as the coffee brewed, he laid down to take a nap and passed away peacefully in his sleep. He was 60 years old and to hear him talk he was the best truck driver, cattleman, heavy equipment operator and farmer that he knew.
Bud is survived by his father Bob, stepmother Dottie, sisters Eddie, Karen, Lynda and Kim, stepdaughters Stephanie and Carla Jean, stepson Tim, nephews Karl, Kenny, and Aaron, nieces Jamie, Miquel, Sameh, and Kayla, grandnephews Harvey, Alexander, Ralph, and Jonathan; grandnieces Erica, Alexandra, and Scarlett and brother-in law Jeff.
Bud developed his patience and discipline practicing to become a Tae Kwon Do black belt while living in Okinawa, as a youth. He spent most of his life driving trucks and operating heavy equipment. He was extremely proud of the time he spent driving the Haul Road from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. By the time he retired to become a farmer, Bud had professionally carried loads in all fifty states, actually finding a way to move rock in Hawaii while on vacation, and most of the provinces in Canada. He had received the "Million Mile Safety Award" as a driver for Interstate Trucking. He never regretted anything he had done in his life. He was a story teller, mentor, teacher, and friend, but most of all, he loved his family.
Services will be at Newell-Hoerling Mortuary, in Centralia, at 11:00 am on July 31. There will also be a private family ceremony when the family lays him to rest next to his brother-in-law and best friend for forty years Bill Combs in a cemetery in Mineral, WA.
Bud, thank you for being the man you were. We all love and miss you, and we will be looking for you around the next bend in the road.