Herb Burgnon dresses for a date with heaven
By Mindy Tate, Editor
mtate@williamsonherald.com
Herb Burgnon cut a sharp figure in whatever he wore, including his tuxedo, which unless you asked him, you would have had no idea was 45 years old.
Burgnon, described by friend after friend as the quintessential gentleman, died Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 after battling cancer for several years. Odds are he wanted to look his best for St. Peter and God, so he told his wife Barbara and son Hobie he wanted to be buried in his tuxedo.
Hobie Burgnon remembers when his father bought the tuxedo, probably for a business function, when the family lived in Marietta, Ohio.
“He bought it at Sniffin’s Men’s Shop,” Hobie Burgnon said. “We wondered why he bought it, but he loved it and kept it. I even wore it to a Halloween party once.”
Maybe it was all his years in the footwear industry that made Herb Burgnon particular about his appearance, his demeanor and his reputation, but all were impeccable.
“Dad spent his entire career in the footwear industry starting in 1947,” Hobie Burgnon said, adding he spent 26 years with Georgia Boot, first as a sales rep in the Midwest and later as vice president of sales and marketing, based in Franklin. After he left Georgia Boot, he was director of U.S. sales for Jallette Footwear, based in Paris, France. He finished his 50-plus years in the footwear business with HH Brown Footwear, based in Hartford, Conn. Herb Burgnon served two terms as president of the National Shoe Travelers Association and was an honorary lifetime member of the Two Ten Foundation, a worldwide charity that assists members of the footwear industry in times of need.
Hobie Burgnon “followed in his father’s footsteps” and is vice president of sales for Heritage Brands Group and Harley Davidson Motorcycles Footwear.
Herb and his first wife, Marjorie, who died in 1989, moved to Franklin in 1978 and after his wife’s death, he ate most if not all of his meals at Fourth & Main where he noticed Main Street shopkeeper Barbara Stephens, herself a widow.
“I would go in after work and have a glass of wine,” Barbara Burgnon said. “I liked him — he was such a nice man — but I assumed he was married.”
Burgnon noticed her too — friends say he always checked out your shoes — but it was another feature that captured him.
“He said he liked my legs,” Barbara Burgnon said with a laugh.
The couple married and friends multiplied as they attended social functions or continued to dine at Fourth and Main, which later became Sandy’s.
“He was just the gentleman of Franklin,” said Garry Kennedy, a longtime friend. “He was just one of the gang, but he was the top gentleman. He was always dressed nattily and always had a wonderful thing to say.”
After retiring from the footwear industry, Herb Burgnon went to work with his friend Bard Quillman, helping him open Red Dog Wine & Spirits off Royal Oaks Boulevard in Franklin.
“I told Barb if Herb was going to go to meet his maker in his tuxedo, I was going to send him with his first drink,” Quillman said, referring to the bottle of champagne he included in Burgnon’s casket.
“I always told the guys here he was the first one I hired and he would be the last one to leave,” Quillman said, adding that Burgnon worked every day until his health deteriorated.
“He had his own way of doing things, but the one word to describe Herb is nice,” Quillman said.
Beside his wife and son Hobie and his wife Beverly, Burgnon is survived by his daughters, Becky (Jim) Burgnon Horst of Wooster, Ohio, and Sheri Stephens (David) Weaver; another son, Mark Burgnon of Shelbyville; brother, Col. Eugene L. Burgnon, Retired USAF of Heathrow, Fla.; grandsons, Jamie Horst of New York City, John (Sara) Horst, of Nashville, Steffan Horst of Columbus, Ohio, Beau Burgnon of Kansas City, Mo., and Alex Burgnon of Grand Rapids, Mich. He was also preceded in death by an infant son, James Burgnon.
Graveside services were Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, at Nolensville Cemetery, Dr. Lynn Hill & Dr. Gary Taylor officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Bridges Domestic Shelter, P.O. Box 1592, Franklin, TN 37065 or charity of your choice.
Posted on: 2/4/2010
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