Michael Burkhart

Michael was born on March 17, 1976 in Dodge City, Kansas, the son of Lawrence Carl Burkhart, Jr. and Debra Ann (Baldwin) Burkhart. He attended Cimarron Elementary School and graduated from Cimarron High School with the class of 1994. While in school he played football, basketball and golf, and was a member of the National Honor Society. He then went on to study at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, graduating with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1999. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Following college, he continued to live in Lawrence for 10 years, and then spent several years in Somerset, Wisconsin before returning to Kansas and residing in Shawnee, after Shawnee the Centropolis, KS.  Throughout his career he worked as an Environmental & Air Quality Consultant for twenty years.

On April 6, 2001, Michael was united in marriage to Julie Koralewski, with whom he shares two children, Avery Mae (13) and Andrew Lawrence (9). They were later divorced.

Michael was born with an active, inquiring mind and continued learning and gaining varied new interests throughout his life. He was interested in astronomy, weather, music, composers, and photography, among many other subjects. He loved building and anything remote controlled. He enjoyed fishing with his kids and teaching them to swim; playing golf with his dad and helping him with work at the farm; hunting with his dad and brothers; and was very proud of his one perfect bowling game. Recently he’d developed a new appreciation for old-fashioned board games through his close friend, Caroline. Time with Mom usually meant sitting on the porch talking about the grandchildren, politics, music, philosophy, or the last Stephen King book he’d read. But more than anything else, Michael loved his children.

He is survived by his parents Larry and Debra Burkhart of Centropolis, KS; two children, Avery and Andrew of Shawnee; two brothers, Steven Burkhart and his fiancé, Kelsey, of Ottawa, KS, and David Burkhart and his wife, Dana, of Van Alstyne, TX; aunts and uncles, Jim Baldwin of Lenexa, KS, Susan and Clay Manes of Kanopolis, KS, JoAnn Burkhart of Aurora, CO, Jerry and Janice Burkhart of Wichita, KS, and MaryAnn and Phil Cunningham of Ashland, KS. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Norman and Mildred Baldwin, and Lawrence and Loretta Burkhart, all of whom were residents of Cimarron.

Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at the Cimarron United Methodist Church, Cimarron, KS. To celebrate Michael’s life, a visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, November 4, 2021 at Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, 325 S Hickory Street, Ottawa, KS. Memorial contributions may be made to the Avery and Andrew Burkhart College Fund and sent c/o Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 14, Ottawa, KS 66067. Condolences may be sent to the family through www.lamb-roberts.com.

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