Kenneth Burwell, retired Nassau police officer and Guardians Association member, dies at 80
Kenneth Earl Burwell I, a former resident of Freeport, served on the Nassau County police force from 1969 to 1984. Credit: Georgia DA
Kenneth Burwell was a man of warmth, patience and wisdom, who held his family close and made lasting friendships, while also seeking to help others on the job and in the community, family and friends recalled.
"He enjoyed meeting people, giving people opportunities, not sending everybody to jail for small infractions," said one of his sons, Kenneth Burwell II, speaking of the years his father was a Nassau County police officer. He said his father served on the county force from 1969 to 1984, when he retired for medical reasons after sustaining multiple injuries when the police cruiser he was in was crushed between two vehicles.
A niece, Victoria Gumbs-Moore, a Suffolk County Family Court judge, recalled her uncle's easygoing manner. "He was a big man. I think he was like 6-4." But, she said, "He wasn't brash. He had a very calm demeanor. He was a great mediator ... He wanted to sit at the table and see how we can resolve whatever the issue was."
Kenneth Earl Burwell I died on Feb. 11 in Union City, Georgia, from injuries sustained in a car accident. He was 80. He and his wife of 61 years, Audrey, had relocated to the Atlanta area around 2001 his children said, after living in Freeport for many years.
Burwell was born in Mineola and grew up in Hempstead, and was a "proud graduate of Hempstead High School," a family obituary noted. His son Kenneth E. Burwell II, of Atlanta, said his father earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Old Westbury in the early 1980s.
According to the younger Burwell, his father's career started at Grumman Aerospace "on the assembly line as a riveter," from 1963 to 1969. That year he joined the Nassau County Police Department.
Zina B. Pitts, a Clayton County, Georgia, chief assistant district attorney, said her father at first "walked a foot patrol. He wasn't assigned a car," suggesting it was a sign of discrimination. "He recognized the injustice of it and then went about making changes where he could, when he could," Pitts said. That led to his involvement with the Black police fraternal organization the Nassau County Guardians Association. According to stories in the Newsday archives, the Guardians began "underground" in the late 1950s out of the frustrations of Black officers. Burwell once served as president of the Guardians, Newsday archives confirmed.
Pat Maurice, a retired Suffolk County police detective, served as president of the Suffolk County Guardians Association in the 1970s at the same time, she said. Burwell was president of the Nassau group. Though she and Burwell worked for different police departments, Maurice said she got to know him through their respective Guardian work.
"We traveled around the country assisting with issues" with other Black police groups. "Ken was always recruiting. If he saw an officer, he would approach them and ask, 'Do you belong to the Guardians?' He was an organizational person. Very committed. A staunch family man."
Maurice added: "Ken, as a person — if you were a friend, a true friend, you were a friend for life." And he sought "to help or inspire a young person."
Burwell's family called him a "servant leader at heart," with his memberships in Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge No. 85 in Hempstead. He volunteered with the food pantry run by Free Spirit Ministries in Fairburn, Georgia. When he lived on Long Island, his family said he was an active member of Union Baptist Church in Hempstead.
In addition to his wife, daughter and son, he is survived by another son, Anthony Burwell, of Brentwood; three sisters, Kathryn McKnight, of Roosevelt, Lillian Pride, of Union City, California, and Madie Gumbs, of Wheatley Heights; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral was held Feb. 28 at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta. His remains were cremated.
Kenneth Burwell was a man of warmth, patience and wisdom, who held his family close and made lasting friendships, while also seeking to help others on the job and in the community, family and friends recalled.
"He enjoyed meeting people, giving people opportunities, not sending everybody to jail for small infractions," said one of his sons, Kenneth Burwell II, speaking of the years his father was a Nassau County police officer. He said his father served on the county force from 1969 to 1984, when he retired for medical reasons after sustaining multiple injuries when the police cruiser he was in was crushed between two vehicles.
A niece, Victoria Gumbs-Moore, a Suffolk County Family Court judge, recalled her uncle's easygoing manner. "He was a big man. I think he was like 6-4." But, she said, "He wasn't brash. He had a very calm demeanor. He was a great mediator ... He wanted to sit at the table and see how we can resolve whatever the issue was."
Kenneth Earl Burwell I died on Feb. 11 in Union City, Georgia, from injuries sustained in a car accident. He was 80. He and his wife of 61 years, Audrey, had relocated to the Atlanta area around 2001 his children said, after living in Freeport for many years.
Burwell was born in Mineola and grew up in Hempstead, and was a "proud graduate of Hempstead High School," a family obituary noted. His son Kenneth E. Burwell II, of Atlanta, said his father earned a bachelor's degree from SUNY Old Westbury in the early 1980s.
According to the younger Burwell, his father's career started at Grumman Aerospace "on the assembly line as a riveter," from 1963 to 1969. That year he joined the Nassau County Police Department.
Zina B. Pitts, a Clayton County, Georgia, chief assistant district attorney, said her father at first "walked a foot patrol. He wasn't assigned a car," suggesting it was a sign of discrimination. "He recognized the injustice of it and then went about making changes where he could, when he could," Pitts said. That led to his involvement with the Black police fraternal organization the Nassau County Guardians Association. According to stories in the Newsday archives, the Guardians began "underground" in the late 1950s out of the frustrations of Black officers. Burwell once served as president of the Guardians, Newsday archives confirmed.
Pat Maurice, a retired Suffolk County police detective, served as president of the Suffolk County Guardians Association in the 1970s at the same time, she said. Burwell was president of the Nassau group. Though she and Burwell worked for different police departments, Maurice said she got to know him through their respective Guardian work.
"We traveled around the country assisting with issues" with other Black police groups. "Ken was always recruiting. If he saw an officer, he would approach them and ask, 'Do you belong to the Guardians?' He was an organizational person. Very committed. A staunch family man."
Maurice added: "Ken, as a person — if you were a friend, a true friend, you were a friend for life." And he sought "to help or inspire a young person."
Burwell's family called him a "servant leader at heart," with his memberships in Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge No. 85 in Hempstead. He volunteered with the food pantry run by Free Spirit Ministries in Fairburn, Georgia. When he lived on Long Island, his family said he was an active member of Union Baptist Church in Hempstead.
In addition to his wife, daughter and son, he is survived by another son, Anthony Burwell, of Brentwood; three sisters, Kathryn McKnight, of Roosevelt, Lillian Pride, of Union City, California, and Madie Gumbs, of Wheatley Heights; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A funeral was held Feb. 28 at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta. His remains were cremated.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Newsday's All-Decade teams for the 1950's and 1960's On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Gregg Sarra and former Newsday sports writer Mike Candel discuss their All-Decade boys basketball teams for the 1950's and 1960's, plus highlights from the county championships.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: Newsday's All-Decade teams for the 1950's and 1960's On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Gregg Sarra and former Newsday sports writer Mike Candel discuss their All-Decade boys basketball teams for the 1950's and 1960's, plus highlights from the county championships.
