-
Sanders -
Former Burnet City Councilman Richard Sanders, right, is honored by Mayor Crista Goble Bromley with a street dedication in his name on Dec. 12, 2019, at the site of what is now the Baylor Scott and White complex across from the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office. Sanders passed away Thursday, Aug. 27, at the age of 95. File photo
Former Burnet City Councilmember Richard Sanders Sr., who was honored late last year with a street named for him, passed away Thursday, Aug. 27, at the age of 95.
Sanders, who owned his own mechanic shop — Richard’s Garage — also was elected to and served on the Burnet City Council for three terms in the 1970s and was a member of the Burnet Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Charter Committee while also being a member of the Burnet Chamber of Commerce.
He was also a longtime member of St. Matthew AME Church in Burnet, where he served as deacon, Sunday School teacher and treasurer, and a volunteer for the local Meals-on-Wheels program and countless other community committees and events.
Last December, the City of Burnet dedicated the newly completed Richard Sanders Parkway in the Eastside Commercial Park on Texas 29 (Polk Street) across from the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office. The new Baylor Scott & White medical complex just opened as the anchor facility for that development.
Sanders, who had been a resident of Burnet since 1939, and a number of his family members and friends were present as Mayor Crista Goble Bromley unveiled the street sign bearing Sanders’ name — a way to show appreciation to Sanders for his years of service and dedication to his adopted hometown.
“Mr. Richard Sanders was a valuable asset to those around him including the community he cared so much for,” Bromley told the Bulletin. “The City of Burnet was the better for his many service deeds not the least of which was the City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission. We are proud to have had the opportunity to dedicate Richard Sanders Boulevard to him in order to celebrate such a giving person.”
Richard Sanders Sr. was born in Florence, Texas, on April 10, 1925, one of nine children of the late Thomas and Mamie Sanders. Upon graduating from high school, Sanders joined the US Navy and served in World War II. After his service, he married the love of his life, Dorothy Lavern Barton, in 1946 and had three children: two daughters, Dorothy Johnson and Elizabeth Houston, and a son, Richard Sanders Jr., who preceded him in death.
His beloved Dorothy, who was the secretary for his garage business for 30 years, preceded him in death on Dec. 8, 2014, after 67 years of marriage and one day shy of her 88th birthday.
Funeral services for Richard Sanders Sr. will be held Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 11 a.m. at Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home in Burnet, with interment to follow in the Burnet City Cemetery.
