David Burner Obituary

David Earl Burner ISLE OF PALMS - David Earl Burner, 74, of Isle of Palms, South Carolina died on February 11, 2013 surrounded by family and friends at Hospice of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. David was born in Huntington, West Virginia on December 31, 1938, and he played basketball at Marshall University. He married Kay Grabow in Atlanta, Georgia. David and Kay moved to South Carolina and have lived in the Charleston area since 2000. Early in David's career, he worked in the wallcovering industry. He had many great friends and mentors who helped him succeed in business at a young age. David was the youngest Vice President of Marketing at W.R. Grace in their wallcovering division. Later, he was President of Columbus Coated Wallcoverings. In the 1980s, he went into business for himself and later became the cofounder of Gateway Academy. Gateway Academy grew to have locations in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Colorado. Aside from his career, David and Kay loved to travel with family and raise their "boys": their two labradoodles, Max and Caesar. David was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters and brother. "Pops" was a loving and supportive husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Kay; his five daughters, Kelli Pollack (Norm), Robin Burner-Wright (Tom), Julie Sisk, Barbara Nielsen (Tim), and Kristina Klauser (Darren); his grandchildren David Pollack (Lindsey), Jason Pollack (Jenny), Jordan Spanske, Charles Baumbach, Katie Nielsen, Austen Klauser, Matthew Klauser, Emily Nielsen, and Timothy Nielsen; and his four great-grandchildren Nicholas Pollack, Aiden Pollack, Leah Pollack, and Allie Pollack. He will always be loved and dearly missed by all of his family and friends. The family wishes to extend a special thanks to Debbie Dundas, Dr. Daniel Game;, Dr. Billy Grossman, Dr. Bob Malcolm, Dr. Billy Wingfield, Jennifer Esquibel, Alexis VanderVeen, and the rest of the talented staff at Odyssey Hospice. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Odyssey Hospice, 5965 Core Avenue, North Charleston, South Carolina 29406. We welcome family and friends to join us for a celebration of David's life on Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 5:00 PM at the Wild Dunes Property Owners Beach House. Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at www.mcalister-smith.com Arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral Home, 1520 Rifle Range Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC (843) 884-3833. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston