Burkett C. McInturff

"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike

Burkett Calvin McInturff, local lawyer, whose legal career spanned over 65 years in the active practice of law, died peacefully in his sleep at his home on June 29, 2012. Proud of his humble beginnings on a river farm in Meigs County, Tennessee, the son of Ed McInturff and Mary Harris McInturff, he never forgot his roots. Burkett was born in Birchwood, Tennessee September 5, 1917. He attended the local schools in Meigs County and soon established himself as a very bright student. He went on to graduate from the University of Chattanooga on June 2, 1941, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, the first in his family to graduate from college.

Burkett was able to attend college and law school because of his maternal grandfather, W.Z. Harris who recognized Burkett's intelligence, encouraged him to go to college and paid the cost. The grandfather even arranged for his grandson to ride a milk truck to and from Ooltewah, Tennessee to Chattanooga. After graduation from the University of Chattanooga, Burkett enrolled at the Cumberland University School of Law in Lebanon, Tennessee graduating on March 28, 1948. McInturff, was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society and was recognized in Who's Who Among University and College Students, both in 1947, while attending Cumberland University School of Law. He reportedly made the second highest score on the Tennessee Bar Exam, a score that was later checked and found to be incorrect. He had actually finished first.

Shortly after graduation Burkett joined in the Army and was honored with the Bronze Medal as a First Lieutenant in the Infantry for Meritorious Achievements in Ground Operations in Korea, 21 November 1951 through 21 May 1952.

In his extensive law practice, Lawyer McInturff was once recognized as one of the top fifty criminal lawyers in the United States. He reportedly tried more "capital cases" criminal trials in which the death penalty was asked for than any other attorney in Tennessee or Southwest Virginia.

Lawyer McInturff, as he liked to be called, is survived by his son, James C. McInturff, an attorney in Pell City, Alabama, grandson Walker McInturff, granddaughter Haley McInturff and grandson, J. Burkett McInturff, an attorney in New York City; Burkett's brother Bill McInturff of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, sisters, Burley Jenkins of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, Wilba Smith and Betty Simmons both of Ooltewah, Tennessee, and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition, surviving Burkett is Daniel Anderson, whom Burkett cared for as if he were his own grandchild and Lisa Street his faithful legal secretary in his final years of practice.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, July 7 from 11:00 AM to 1:00pm at First Broad Street United Methodist Church on Church Circle in Kingsport, followed by the Memorial Service at the church. The service will be led by his close friend, Shelburne Ferguson.

A graveside service will follow at 4:00 PM. in the Glenwood Cemetery in Bristol, Virginia with military graveside rites conducted by the American Legion Posts #3/265.

The pallbearers will be Thomas C. Smith, Jim Henderson, Jim Wright, Carl Cox, J. Burkett McInturff, Walker McInturff, Charlie Wright, Ben Sutton and Tom Buchanan. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Kingsport Bar Association.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to either the Muscular Dystrophy Association, P.O. Box 78960, Phoenix, AZ 85062-8960, www.mda.org, or Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Road, 2nd floor, Bethesda, MD 20814, or www.cff.org.