Remembering Leah Burks (1943-2024)
It was just one first lady talking with another.
When Barbara Bush spoke at Harding in 2002, she had a lot to be proud of. Her husband was the former president of the United States. Her son was the current president. As she spoke to nearly 4,000 people in the Benson Auditorium, she joked that sometimes she couldn’t believe where life had taken her.
“When I sit down with George and we watch our son on television, we are in awe,” she told the audience. “Can this be the same person I threatened with death and destruction if he didn’t clean his room?”
Earlier that day, Mrs. Bush had attended a reception at the home of Harding President David Burks. It had already been a full day, and the dinner and speech were still ahead. Yet after all the guests had left, instead of retreating to a private place to rest, the former resident of the White House sat down with Leah Burks in her living room and said, “Now, tell me all about your family.” Her reputation for being down to earth was no political pose. It was genuine.
Mrs. Burks cherished that story. Not because it involved a celebrity, but because in the midst of a grand public occasion, she had enjoyed a quiet chat about family, mother-to-mother.
When Leah Burks passed away in July at the age of 81, she was remembered as a gracious woman who lived for a long time out of her comfort zone. She disliked the spotlight, never happier than when spending time with her husband and family, tending flowers in her garden, baking in the kitchen, or attending church. But when Dr. Burks became the fourth president of Harding in 1987, she soon had to take on a more public role.
They had met at Harding in the 1960s, when she came from a farm in Illinois. After they married, they returned to Searcy in 1967. With degrees in English and art, she taught both locally. She and David raised a daughter and two sons, and she treasured time with her six grandchildren—all of whom remember her lovingly as their biggest supporter, who never missed a sporting event or performance.
More comfortable planting hydrangeas than throwing parties, she nevertheless became the quintessential host. As her son Bryan said, “She lived graciously in a glass house in a small town.” Her home was constantly open to students and visiting dignitaries. She and Dr. Burks held a weekly Bible study in their home for many years, and she sponsored the Zeta Rho social club for three decades. She was a master of hospitality.
And somehow, she still managed to stay out of the limelight as much as possible. At her funeral, the story was shared of an introverted young woman who attended a reception at the Burks home and felt terribly out of place. Amid the buzz of socializing, she slipped into the kitchen, where Leah was busy preparing food. Mrs. Burks handed the young lady a knife, and they spent much of the evening together, just two kindred spirits staying busy. As the young lady prepared to leave, Mrs. Burks whispered, “The kitchen is the best place to hide.”
A former student recalled the famous luaus that Dr. and Mrs. Burks hosted for incoming freshmen each year. As he stood nervously alone in the crowd, not knowing anyone, Leah Burks came over to him. She immediately put him at ease, and they talked for 45 minutes. He reflected that few things had more influence on him in his four years at Harding than that experience.
That common touch extended to both the famous and the not-so-famous. Yet another of her favorite stories involved the visit of Margaret Thatcher. When the former British prime minister spoke at Harding in 1995, security was high. The Oklahoma City bombing had happened just eight days before, and Scotland Yard swept the scene in advance of her visit.
After a reception at the Burks home, Mrs. Thatcher insisted on going upstairs for a private chat with Leah. Her security detail balked, since they had not inspected the second floor. But Lady Thatcher was not someone to be trifled with, and, holding one of the Burks grandchildren, she marched upstairs past Scotland Yard and talked for 20 minutes with her host.
Every January, the College Church of Christ hosts a steak dinner for anyone who has read the entire Bible in the preceding year. As much as I view steak as a treat, Leah’s famous desserts are the primary draw. I’ve often joked that the thought of her peanut butter pie got me through Leviticus.
Dr. and Mrs. Burks were married 59 years, and she served nearly 28 of those as Harding’s first lady. She bravely fought cancer twice, and we thank God for her elegant, spirit-filled life.
