(Wichta, Kansas) Charles “Chuck” Burnett, a longtime Atlantic educator, coach, and community leader whose influence shaped generations of students and athletes, has passed away at the age of 91.
Burnett died Monday, July 20.
A native of Indianola, Burnett graduated from Indianola High School before earning degrees from Simpson College and Drake University. He and his wife, Dorothy, dedicated nearly 70 years to education, including more than six decades in the Atlantic community before moving to Wichita, Kansas, in 2022.
Burnett joined the Atlantic Community School District in 1964, where he taught junior high science and physical education until his retirement in 1995. During that time, he became one of the school’s most respected coaches.
He served as Atlantic’s head baseball coach from 1968 to 1980 and helped establish the Trojan wrestling program alongside longtime coach Lynn Barnes. He later spent two decades coaching junior high wrestling and was inducted into the Atlantic/CAM Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021.
Many also remember Burnett for his role as an assistant football coach under Bob Younger. Beginning in 1969, Burnett was part of a coaching staff that helped build one of Iowa’s premier high school football programs. During nearly two decades together, the Trojans earned seven state playoff appearances, advanced to two state championship games, and never lost more than three games in a season.
Before arriving in Atlantic, Burnett taught and coached in Collins, Panora, and Pella. As an athlete, he was a four-sport standout at Indianola High School and an All-Iowa Conference football player at Simpson College, where he was later inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Outside the classroom and athletic fields, Burnett was deeply involved in the Atlantic community. He directed the city’s summer recreation program, helped develop Atlantic Little League baseball, served as president of the United Church of Christ congregation and Meals on Wheels, was a member of the Cass County Zoning Board, worked as a Hy-Vee floral delivery driver, and was a longtime member of Nishna Hills Golf Club.
Burnett was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Dorothy, and his brothers, Larry and Earl. He is survived by three children, five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, his sister, Amy Endres, and numerous extended family members.
A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Friday, August 14, at 10 a.m. at the United Church of Christ in Atlantic.
