Frank William Burger

Frank William Burger, 88, Abilene resident since 1959, independent oil operator and drilling contractor, died at his home Friday, April 30, 2010. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, May 3, 2010 at the Llano Cemetery in Amarillo, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 4, at First Central Presbyterian Church, at 400 Orange St. in Abilene. Services are under the direction of The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. Frank was born in Amarillo, Texas, January 7, 1922. He was preceded in death by his parents, Louise Sullenberger Burger and William Dan Burger, and his sister Billie Louise Burger. Frank graduated from Amarillo High School in 1939, and has maintained many friendships in the Amarillo area. He attended Texas A & M and was in the Corps of Cadets, "A" Company Engineers, from 1940-1943. He was inducted into the Ross Volunteers 1942-1943. He was called to active duty in the Corps of Engineers in 1942 during WWII, and was sent to Bend, Oregon with the Corps of Engineers. After a short time there he transferred to the Air Corp, and received flight training in Colorado, Kansas, and California, and was a flight instructor at Luke Field in Arizona for Army Air Corps Advanced Flight Training. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt., U.S. Army Air Corps on March 11, 1945. Flying and airplanes were a lifelong passion, as was the oil industry. He graduated Texas A & M in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering, and completed post graduate coursework in geology. Frank began his career in the oil industry in Houston, Texas as a geologist with Sinclair Oil Company in 1948. He was also, for a time, a pilot for R. H. Fulton Pipeline Company in Lubbock, Texas. In 1949, chasing the oil boom, he went to Breckenridge, Texas, and began his work as an independent geologist. As an independent, he moved to Coleman, Texas in 1950, where he married Frances Patton in 1950 and their four children were born there. He owned and operated Burger Drilling Company for 50 years, and started Mesa Drilling Company. He is survived by his daughters Patti Elliott and son-in-law Jimmy Elliott of New York, NY and Gonzales, Texas; daughter Lynda Burger of San Antonio, Texas; daughter Kathryn Sonenshine and son-in-law Scott Sonenshine of Ashland, Oregon; and son Bill Burger and daughter-in-law Toni Burger, of Boulder, Colorado; and 10 grandchildren. His dear friends and family members include Margie Wells, and Frances and Bill Stephenson.