John “Johnny” Willis Burrus, 59, died May 9 in his home in Hookerton, Green County.
A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gaskins-Jackson-O’Neal Family Cemetery, Ocracoke.
It is preceded by a funeral service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the Ormondsville Original Free Will Baptist Church, Ayden, Pitt County.
Johnny was the husband of Michelle Burrus, and was a son of Cora and the late Alonzo Burrus.
An Ocracoke native, after graduating high school in 1974, Johnny completed the North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Training program.
He started his law enforcement career at ECU where he worked for 12 years. He then worked as a detective for the Greene County Sherriff’s office for 15 years, and for five years at the NC Dept. of Motor Vehicles, retiring in 2010.
In 2011, he began working for National Finance as an area auditor and also was a continuing education instructor for Pitt Community College’s BLET program.
He was an avid fisherman and had a love for music with his boys and grandchildren, playing backup guitar for Almost Legal Band.
In addition to his wife, Johnny is survived by his children, April Jencen and husband T.J. of Severna Park, Md.; Joshua and Zach Burrus of Greene County; step-children, Shannon Winslow, Brady Banks, Dallas Hawkins and Brandon Andrew; grandchildren, Aiden and Audrey Jencen and James and Jackson Winslow.
And sister, Karen Strickland, wife of A.C.; brother Lonnie Burrus and wife Debbie of Ocracoke; mother-in-law, Vicki Fulcher; and several nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Ormondsville OFWB Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 4217 Park Place Ct., Glen Allen, VA 23060-9979.
Arrangements are by Smith Funeral Service & Crematory, Greenville. Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.smithfcs.com.
