Charles Lawson Burandt, Jr.

Listen to this obituary

Dr. Charles Lawson Burandt, Jr., 71, died Saturday, August 20, 2022, in Corinth, TX. The funeral will be Sunday, August 28, 2022, at 10:00 A.M. in the chapel of Waller Funeral Home in Oxford, MS. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 9:00 A.M. Burial will follow in Eastover Memorial Cemetery.

Charles was born on November 8, 1950, in Dallas, TX to the late Charles and Jacqueline Burandt. From a young age, he had a curiosity for nature and the world around him. That childlike wonder that most lose along the way, Charles chose to nurture. This passion led him to first obtain his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree of Science at the Steven F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX and then a PhD in Botany from Texas A&M. With an explorer’s heart, he started to collect species of plants from all over the world. Charles would travel and scour mountains to find medicinal plants to harvest for his research, even discovering a plant that was then named after him. For 10 years, he found himself in Venezuela teaching at The University of Caracas. Fluent in Spanish, Charles immersed himself in the culture around him, gaining much wisdom and a lifetime of memories during his time there. He moved back to his home state, where he was a professor at his alma mater, Texas A&M University, before eventually settling in Oxford, MS where he was a Research Botanist and Professor at The University of Mississippi. Throughout his life, Charles never abandoned his wonder or curiosity. It was his hope to pass along the same zeal for life to his beloved children. In addition to his parents, Charles was preceded in death by his wife, Sonya Dugger Burandt.

Survivors include his daughters, Adelle “Addie” Burandt of Port St. Lucie, FL and Lena Burandt of Princeton, TX; sons, Charles L. “Charlie” Burandt, III of Colorado Springs, CO, Atticus Burandt of Prosper, TX, and Zavier Burandt of Prosper, TX; sister, Cecile Burandt of Beaumont, TX; and brother, Jeff Burandt and his wife, Lisa of Prosper, TX.

Expressions of sympathy or memorial contributions in Charles’ memory may be made to Memory Makers, 106 Skyline Drive, Oxford, MS 38655.