ROBERT M. BUERKLE

JACKSON - Funeral services for Robert McEndree Buerkle, a longtime Jackson attorney and civic leader, will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at McCombs Funeral Chapel in Jackson.

Buerkle, 73, died Wednesday, Dec. 25, 1991 at St. Francis Medical Center.

Visitation will be at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. today. Albert M. Spradling, Jr. will officiate at Saturday's service, and burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Buerkle was born Aug. 11, 1918 in Pemiscot County, the son of John Christian and Maggie McEndree Buerkle. In 1942 he married Julia Bohnsack, of Cape Girardeau, who survives.

He attended public schools in Cape Girardeau and graduated from what is now Southeast Missouri State University in 1940. In 1942 he graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law, and was admitted to the Missouri Bar on March 13, 1942.

After returning to Cape County, Buerkle practiced law with Albert M. Spradling, Sr. until March of 1943 when he opened a solo practice in Jackson. That firm is now known as Buerkle, Beeson, and Ludwig. He retired from the firm in November of 1990.

During his legal career, Buerkle served as prosecuting attorney for Cape County from 1944-1948, and served as city attorney for Jackson for many years. He was a member of the Cape County, Missouri, and American Bar Associations, the American Judicature Society, and other professional organizations. He was admitted to practice in both state and federal courts, and in later years his practice centered primarily in business and commercial matters.

He was on the board of directors of Jackson Exchange Bank from 1945 to 1970, and was a board member and president of the Bank of Ste. Genevieve from 1960 to 1985. Since the mid-1960s he served in various business positions, including until recently as a member of the board of directors and general counsel for the Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Southeast Missouri.

Surviving, besides his wife, are: a son, Joe T. Buerkle, of Cape Girardeau, who practices law in the Buerkle firm; a daughter, Roberta K. Ewersmann, of St. Paul; a brother, John C. Buerkle, of Alton, Ill.; two sisters, Margaret Buerkle and Mary Elizabeth Buerkle, both of Kirkwood; and five grandchildren.