FAYETTEVILLE — John Logan Burrow, the longtime Washington County Election Commission chairman, Democratic party activist and lawyer, has died.
Burrow, 67, was found Monday in his Fayetteville home.
He was appointed to the commission in 1984 and during the next three decades left it only for a short stint to fill a vacancy on the Washington County Quorum Court. He became chairman in 1995.
"He always did an outstanding job and took his duties on the Election Commission seriously. As a result, our elections here have always been conducted according to the law, above board, and beyond reproach," said Circuit Judge William Storey.
Storey served for a time on the commission with Burrow and gained much respect for him.
"He devoted so much time to the Election Commission," Storey said. "It's a difficult position and he did it better than anyone I've ever seen in that office. John was a wonderful public servant and I'll certainly miss him."
Jennifer Price, Washington County election coordinator, said while Burrow was passionate about Democratic politics, he was nonpartisan when it came to running elections.
"He was such a good, honest man. He cared so much about the elections," Price said. "When he walked in there for an election committee meeting, he wasn't a Democrat anymore. He was there for a fair election process. He was for making sure Washington County elections were fair and above board."
Tyler Clark, chairman of the Washington County Democratic Party, said Burrow knew election law and worked well with representatives from the other side on the election commission.
"You couldn't meet a brighter or more enthusiastic person about the electoral process and life in general," Clark said. "John always had a firm handshake and a pleasant thing to say. It's safe to say he is a Fayetteville institution."
Storey said he first met Burrow when Burrow worked at Restaurant on the Corner, a Fayetteville landmark, before they became members of the local legal profession. Burrow worked his way through the University of Arkansas law school and frequented the restaurant for four decades.
"It's always been a traditional meeting ground for everybody in the town," Burrow once said. He worked at ROTC from 1974 to 1985, serving as manager for nine of those years. "Every kind of person was at home in that restaurant."
Storey said, "He was a very likable and nice person. 'A prince of a fellow,' was a term he often used."
City Prosecutor Casey Jones said Burrow's passing is a great loss for local politics because Burrow was passionate about the subject.
"He was a sweet guy. I always liked seeing him walk through my door," Jones said. "I never knew a man who loved politics so much for the good things about it."
Burrow once said politics had always been part of his life and some of his earliest memories.
"I remember as a small child going down to the courthouse on election night," Burrow told a newspaper reporter in September 2004. "It was really just an exciting thing to watch, so I guess I developed a fascination for it at a young age."
Burrow said he was born into politics in Clarksville because his family owned The Spectator, the weekly newspaper in Ozark.
"Obviously, in small town newspapers, politics is going to be stirred into your breakfast cereal," he quipped.
Burrow could often be found sitting on a bench on the Fayetteville Square discussing current events with those who agreed, or didn't, with his point of view.
State Rep. David Whitaker, a Democrat, was one of those who talked regularly with Burrow, particularly when Whitaker worked as assistant city attorney and had an office just off the square.
"We spent many spring and summer days discussing everything under the sun," Whitaker said. "John was a dear friend."
Burrow met Bill Clinton when they were in high school and their paths crossed many times over the years. Burrow was a student of Clinton's in law school.
Burrow volunteered to drive a van for the White House Press Corps when President Clinton visited Arkansas. He recalled one journey along Arkansas 23 from Subiaco to Beaver Lake. Clinton chose to stop at Turner Bend Store, forcing the entire motorcade off the road while he visited.
"It was interesting to see the guy with the nuclear codes standing in the middle of Arkansas 23 by Turner Bend," Burrow recalled in an interview.
They met again, this time in the Oval Office before a Saturday morning presidential radio address.
A photograph of that meeting was displayed in Burrow's law office.
City Attorney Kit Williams knew Burrow professionally and personally.
"John, if you knew him, was mild mannered and soft-spoken, but ready to laugh and always had a joke. He always had unquestioned integrity," Williams said. "You didn't hear him say bad things about people."
Williams said Burrow was great to work with.
"The thing I appreciated is he would come over when an issue came up with the A&P Commission or downtown parking district, he would come over and discuss and try to make sure we both understood the issue," Williams said "He was very easy to work with and just interested in doing what was right and what the law said. He was always very polite and kind, and I'm going to miss him."
Burrow had an abiding love of history, once reading the entire transcript of the Nuremberg trials, said longtime friend Woody Bassett.
"John was well-read and a real student of history," Bassett said. "He loved to talk about history."
Burrow was a member of the state's Air Force Association. He practiced law in Springdale for 11 years with Kent Hirsch before opening his own office on the square in 2000.
He assisted community groups such as the Huntsville Water and Sewer Commission, the Fayetteville downtown off-street parking improvement district and Advertising and Promotion Commission.
NW News on 03/11/2014