Vencil Lee Burnett

Vencil Lee Burnett was born to Herschel and Denzil Burnett on February 18, 1936. He grew up in the Missouri, Illinois area with 2 brothers and a sister.

On September 4, 1955, Vencil united in marriage with Mary Edna Willis, beginning a beautiful journey that would span 69 years. Their union was blessed with four children: three daughters and one son.

Early in their marriage, Mary and Vencil moved to Missouri where they spent 15 years building their life together. Their journey then took them to Wyoming until 1973, when they relocated to California so Vencil could attend Bible college. Following his studies, they returned to Wyoming where Vencil served as a bi-vocational Pastor until 1997, when they retired to Springfield, MO.

Vencil trusted the Lord as his Savior in a hospital room at the age of 16. He loved to study the Scriptures and would often spend hours pouring over his Bible and many commentaries. Vencil loved to hunt and fish. He also loved to work with his hands. Vencil spent many years laying bricks, remodeling, building homes and pieces of furniture he made for those he loved. He especially loved to work with cedar as can be seen in the work he did at Cherry Street Baptist Church where he and Mary were members for many years. Vencil loved the mountains and spent the last several months of his life in Wyoming after his beloved Mary passed away in early 2025 with his youngest daughter, Debbie and her family where he could be seen driving a four wheeler, working cows and just enjoying country life.

Vencil is survived by his daughter Connie (Ray) Adams and son Randy (Teresa) Burnett, both of Springfield, MO; daughter Debbie (Butch) Lubkeman of Gillette, Wyoming; sister Sonia Rose of Columbia, MO, seven grandchildren; twenty-four great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 69 years, his parents, three brothers, one daughter, Elaine, and one grandson, Tyler.

A celebration of Vencil’s life will be held on Saturday, November 8, at Journey Church, 3601 Southern Drive, Gillette, Wyoming at 10 a.m. A service will be held at Cherry Street Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to the Mission fund at Cherry Street Baptist Church, 1201 S. Oak Grove Ave., Springfield, MO 65804.