A Son's Tribute to His Father
Paul Burleson died May 5, 2024, and entered the Land of the Living.
I married Rachelle on August 6, 1983; my father didn’t officiate the service.
He was my best man.
But that’s not unusual. William Paul Burleson (b. July 19, 1940 - d. May 5, 2024) was everybody’s best man.
William Paul Young, author of The Shack, sent me this text earlier today:
The first time I met William Paul Burleson, I knew I was safe with this man. Not only because we share the same first and middle names but because of the warmth of his smile, the genuine, loving arm he put around my shoulder, and a presence that whispered, “I’ve got you!”
He made me feel that in his world, I was the only one who mattered.
Good night, brother; I will see you in the morning.
Paul Young feels the way everybody who knew Paul Burleson feels today.
My dad had a magnetism that drew people to him. He was approachable by all but had a particular affinity for the down-and-out, the wounded and broken, those that the world of riches, class, and power often rejects.
The Overcomer
My dad grew up just south of the North Canadian River (now called the Oklahoma River in OKC), near May Avenue.
The United States still felt the pangs of the Great Depression and had not yet entered World War II when my dad was born.
The Burleson family lived near the infamous Hooverville Great Depression camp on May Avenue.
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