Harold “Hal” August Burgdorf

Harold August Burgdorf was born July 24, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. Perhaps foreshadowing his move to and life in Texas, the National Weather Service records July 24, 1934, as the hottest day ever in Chicago (105°F). He passed into the arms of his Heavenly Father on August 13, 2026, in Georgetown, Texas, at the age of 92, just after celebrating his birthday.

He is survived by his loving and dedicated wife of 64 years, Barbara Ann; his only son, Barry Burgdorf, and his wife, Jayna Burgdorf, of Austin, Texas; his three grandchildren, Bartyn Burgdorf and his wife, Lauren, also of Austin, Jacy Shirley and her husband, Austin, and their children—his great-grandchildren, Hudson and Sophie—of Houston, and Jaclyn Burgdorf and her fiancé, Cale Reinking, also of Houston. All came to know Hal as a kind and loving husband, dad, and G.P. He is also survived by his two nieces, Nanci Parenti (also his goddaughter) and Jodi Polatsek. Because Hal didn’t have daughters of his own, and because of his love for his sister Marion, whose husband died when her children were young, he felt a special fondness for his nieces and their families. He called Marion every Thursday morning until her death twelve years ago.

His parents, Alfred Francis Burgdorf and Florence Rose Burgdorf, his sister Marion Siliciani, and his brother Ronald Burgdorf all predeceased him. In perhaps another foreshadowing event in his life, on a lazy Sunday afternoon following a traditional big German lunch after church, the rest of the family settled in for a nap, but young Hal just wasn’t having it. He turned on the family radio in the living room and quickly learned that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. When he ran from bedroom to bedroom to wake the rest of the family, he was dismissed as an imaginative 7-year-old with too much energy to let the family sleep. He later served as a Marine helicopter pilot in post-occupation Japan, where he developed a love of the Japanese people and their culture, divorced from the imperial war machine.

Hal was a lifelong learner, attending college in Illinois and ultimately earning a bachelor’s degree from TCU and a master’s degree from SMU. But the degrees were not important to him. It was the process of learning and exploring that always engaged him. For example, he and his son shared a lifelong passion for history, especially military history, trading books to read and stories they had learned along the way.

Most people are shaped by a few institutions that dominate their lives. For Hal, they were the Lutheran Church, Bethany Lutheran High School in Mankato, Minnesota, his family, and the United States Marine Corps. There is a common theme among them: faith. Faith and confidence in God’s unearned gift of salvation; faith and hope in one’s earthly family; and an unwavering duty to do right by those God put on this earth for you to love and support. And, of course, for the Marines: Semper Fi!—always faithful to the duty and honor bestowed upon you.

Let’s start with the church and Bethany Lutheran High School. Hal was born into the Christian faith as confessed by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The running joke in Hal’s family was: When did you become a Lutheran? Answer: in utero! Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Hal was baptized into the faith in Oak Park, Illinois. Throughout his church life—notably at Zion Lutheran in Dallas, Texas; Grace Lutheran in Arlington, Texas; St. Paul Lutheran in Fort Worth, Texas; and finally Zion Lutheran in Georgetown, Texas—Hal was an active member of each congregation, singing in the choir, serving in leadership roles as an elder and on church council, leading various fundraising drives, and being a welcoming, kind face on Sunday mornings. His faith and church life meant a lot to him, but as he would always say, these were gifts from God that he did nothing to earn.

Bethany Lutheran High School (now Bethany Lutheran College) held a special place in Hal’s heart. He said it shaped him as a young man and enhanced his faith. Attending there was his own idea at just 15 years old. He later said, “It just came to me; that is where I needed to be.” He hitchhiked, took buses, and begged rides between Mankato and his home in Chicago. He loved Bethany and the lifelong friends he made there. His mother always said you knew when Hal was home from school because he walked through the door smiling and whistling. The entrance to Old Main on campus is topped by a beautiful stained-glass window entitled “The Way of the Cross.” Harold Burgdorf led the campaign to support, fund, and install that piece as a tribute to the institution that meant so much to him.

Next, he would say his family was a blessing from God. Perhaps the most momentous decision he made was to move to Dallas, Texas, after active duty as a Marine helicopter pilot. There, he met and married Barbara Ann Daniels in 1962 after an extended courtship of four months—he knew God intended Barbara to be his wife. But God also gave him the resources to realize that blessing. Hal and Barbara lived in the same apartment complex as young professionals in Dallas. Both had noticed each other’s comings and goings but had never had the opportunity to talk. While at a party in their apartment complex, the host said he needed more ice. Hal seized the opportunity and quickly volunteered to make a run for it. He immediately turned to Barbara, also standing in the kitchen, and asked if she’d like to accompany him. She said yes, and that quick ice run spawned a 64-year marriage.

In 1964, they welcomed their son Barry and continued their journey of faith and family, which serves as his lasting earthly legacy. There was never anything his grandkids did that he wasn’t proud of, whether it was throwing a strikeout, scoring a touchdown or a goal, spinning off the top of a cheerleading pyramid, or simply standing at the end of a dance line dressed as an elephant or flower, not knowing quite what to do. Although he was a Horned Frog and a Pony, he adopted his son’s school, and in family photos he can often be seen throwing up the Hook ’Em Horns. His favorite family times involved gathering for college football games and trips to the beach as an extended clan. He was an avid Texas Rangers and Longhorns fan and was thrilled to see the Rangers finally win it all in 2023.

Lastly, we come to the Marines. The family learned that you are never a former Marine; one is and always will be a Marine. Semper Fi! Those who knew Hal later in life, as his health declined, might never have guessed his many adventures as an active-duty helicopter pilot and later as a fully engaged reservist. The stories of his Marine Corps days are too numerous to recount here. Suffice it to mention these highlights. Major Harold Burgdorf served his country for 20 years: four on active duty and 16 as a reservist. He completed his flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, receiving his wings on August 12, 1955. He flew the CH-53 helicopter, traveled the world aboard the USS Saipan, crossed the equator, and swam the ship’s garbage chute, as first-time equator-crossers are made to do. He said that was the only part of his service he didn’t like. He spent 14 months stationed in post-occupation Japan before leaving active service. He continued to fly in the canyons of Wyoming on geological surveys, delivering mail across Chicagoland, and, of course, in the reserves.

Hal’s family wishes to thank his dedicated and loving caregivers: Maria, Michellei, and Janie, who, alongside Barbara, were with him to the end. As they will testify, despite his declining health and ever more dire circumstances as his once athletic and able earthly body failed him, his faith, his kind and thankful attitude, and his compassion for those around him never wavered. No matter what physical challenge he faced, when asked, “How are you doing today?” his regular and unchanging answer was, “If I was any better, I couldn’t stand it.” As he passed, his loving and dedicated wife and son were with him, and we know he was already looking past us, pointing the way to Heaven, where the blessed reunion of saints in Christ will occur.

In lieu of sending flowers, the family kindly suggests that you consider making a donation in Hal’s name to either Bethany Lutheran College or Zion Lutheran Church Walburg, Texas.

Rest in peace, Hal.