John Donald Burley, Jr. “Buck”, 86, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 12, 2018 at his home in New Caney, Texas where he resided with his daughter, Jan, and son-in-law, Rick Cowan. John was born in St. Benedict, Pennsylvania to John Donald Burley, Sr. and Ethel Vaught on April 10, 1931, the third of their five children. He attended Cresson High School and graduated in 1949.
John enlisted in the United States Army on June 15, 1949. He successfully completed the prescribed course of instruction in Jumpmaster Training and was a certified Parachutist for the 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION. He served his country well and was Honorably Discharged on November 13, 1952.
On June 19, 1954, he married Dolores Mae Glass and then enrolled at Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech. During his pursuit of a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, he fathered his first three children, Lee Anne, Patricia and Jan. He graduated on June 7, 1958 and was recruited by Exxon to begin his career in New Orleans. His fourth child, Maureen, was born during the family’s brief stay in New Orleans before Exxon transferred him to Houston in late 1959. Houston became his and Delores’ lifelong residence and where they gave birth to their last three children, John, Christine and Beverly.
John worked for Exxon approximately twenty years before chasing the commercial real estate market with Friendswood Development. He was instrumental in the development of Kingwood and then eventually created his own commercial real estate company. John fortunately retired from the real estate business before the crash in the 1980’s, but he never retired from work. He was always looking for a new project. John owned various companies and played an essential role in the creation of The Right Step Alcohol and Drug Rehab Centers.
John is preceded in death by his mother and father; his sisters, Patricia Maus and Judy Russo; his brother, Joseph; his daughter, Beverly Burley; his daughter Lee Anne Shearin and her son, Jason Owens. John is survived by his sister, Joan Smadja and five of his children: Patricia (Alan) Rhodes; Jan (Rick) Cowan; Maureen (Donald) Hicks; John Burley; and Christine Fowler. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Sarah, Ryan, Darcy, Kelsey, Donald Gene, Mauriah, Charrise, and Cassie; his four great grandchildren, Trysten, Makenna, Kade and Keylee; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at Rosewood Funeral Home (New Caney) at 12:00 p.m. A reception will follow at Impact Church located at 2434 Roman Forest Blvd. The family will greet friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 16th at Rosewood Funeral Home in New Caney.