Mary E. Burnette

1925 - 2013

A quite, gracious lady, Mrs. Burnette spent 30 years in the classroom. She graduated from Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University in 1951. Immediately after graduating, she was recruited from Walton County to oversee the start-up the Okaloosa County segregated school, even though she had been offered a position in Miami, Fla. She became the first African-American teacher in Okaloosa County.
In the beginning, it was just Mrs. Burnette, the principal and 50 students, of which they taught all grades. Later on, the schools were known as Brooks Elementary and W.E. Combs High Schools, which became integrated institutions in the late 1960's. Mrs. Burnette was instrumental in recruiting administrators and instructors, along with employing parents as teacher's aids in the classrooms. She was also honored for commencing and serving 22 years with the Okaloosa County Head Start Program from 1967 to 1989. Mrs. Burnette always tried to instill educational values as the key to economic success and, more importantly, being respected by all races. Accordingly to her son, Dr. Daarel Burnette, "Mom would always lecture me, your education attainment will be the foundation to obtaining prosperity and keeping-up in our global universe."
Mrs. Burnette and her late husband, Col. A. Burnette, raised three sons, along with countless god and foster kids from the neighborhood. Upon retirement, she traveled throughout the country in her recreation vehicle and globally to South Africa. When her health began to decline in 2002, she retreated to the Bob Hope Village and eventually, the Hawthorne House.
In January 2004, Mrs. Burnette was chosen as the Grand Marshal in the local parade celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The chairperson stated, "We chose one of the pioneers who has truly made a difference in our community to be our Grand Marshall. Mrs. Burnette was both an exemplary and superior educator in Okaloosa County that elevated the affluence of a myriad of Fort Walton Beach citizens."
Mrs. Burnette leaves to cherish her beautiful and loving memories, three sons, Cornel, Daarel and Marlon; special children, Jerry Payne, Karen Jefferson, Beatrice Tippens and Oscar Montgomery; and a host of grandchildren, family and friends.
Services will held on Saturday, March 23, at 9 a.m. at Beulah Baptist Church, 109 McGriff Street, N.E., Fort Walton Beach, FL, with the inurnment taking place at Magnolia Cemetery, DeFuniak Springs, Fla. at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Mary E. Burnette / W.E. Combs Scholarship Fund, c/o Dorothy Curry, 5651 Boehm Dr. Fairfield, Ohio 45014.
Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at www.McLaughlinMortuary.com.