William Burl Flannery

William Burl Flannery, age 79 of West Jefferson passed away on July 14, 2023 at Kindred Hospital in Greensboro, NC.  Mr. Flannery was born in Ashe County, NC on July 17, 1943.  He was preceded in death by his mother, Mamie Lee Flannery and father Daniel Boone Flannery.

Burl graduated from High Point High School in 1962.  He graduated from the National School of Aeronautics in 1964 and joined the United States Army in the same year. He got orders for Vietnam in 1965 and was attached to the 13th Combat Aviation (Delta) Battalion.  In early 1966, he was assigned to the 101, the Aviation Battalion in the Delta at Soctrang, South Vietnam. Burl spent almost 30 months in Vietnam.  He graduated from Wilkes Community College in 1974 with a degree in Applied Science.  He graduated from Palmer College in Charleston, SC in 1976.  He worked with the Pizza Hut, Inc. until 1979.  In June 1979 his Pizza huts were the first to become a Charter Member of Eight Hundred Thousand-Dollar Weeks in the history of the Organization.  Later Burl became interested in real estate investments as well as wrote a book about his experiences in Vietnam, titled “Thirty Minutes of Glory, Thirty Months of Hell”.

Mr. Flannery will be remembered for his love for animals, flowers and always offering a helping hand with a place to stay to those individuals that he met that just needed a boost to get back on their feet.  He enjoyed photography and traveling and has been to every state in the United States and Canada.  His hobby before passing was purchasing and restoring Jeep Comanches.  He loved the excitement of searching for needed parts for the 4 Comanches he owned.

Mr. Flannery is survived by 3 sisters, Shirley Killen, Lucy Riddle, Linda Pennington, and husband Walter of West Jefferson, 1 niece Janet Moretz and husband Mike of West Jefferson and 5 nephews, Ivan Killen and wife Laurie of Norcross, Ga, Eugene Killen and wife Sharon of Concord, NC, Russell Killen and wife Diane of West Jefferson, NC, Dean Riddle and wife Lynn of Fairhope, Al and Randy Riddle of Mebane, NC, 7 Great Nieces and Nephews, 5 Great Great Nieces and Nephews, and 1 special cat, Whiskers.  He was preceded in death by his special dog, Sparky.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at 12:00 noon at Ashelawn Memorial Chapel by Rev. Frank Rash and Rev. Jimmy Galgano. Burial will follow in the Lewis-Kemp Cemetery with military rites. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

Services will be live-streamed though our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AppalachianLegacyFuneralServices/

Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to: Nahimana Forest Animal Sanctuary (Kitten Rescue): https://www.nahimanaforest.org/giving or 1404 Laurel Creek Road Extension, Todd, NC 28684.