The first principal of West High, Dr. Al Burr, passed away on Sept. 25 at the age of 85.

A memorial ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Chesterfield Presbyterian Church and is open to the public.

“He was such an incredible person. He will be missed by many. People are once again flying in from all over the country and world to attend. It is going to be a beautiful celebration of his life,” Parkway Alumni Association Director Leah McCoy said.

Burr worked as a teacher in the Bonne Terre School District and the Clayton School Districts before beginning his career at Parkway West as a math teacher. Burr began working in the building when it consisted of both the middle and high school students.  When he became head Principal, the school split into two separate buildings: one for middle school and one for high school. Burr worked 24 years in Parkway, 13 years as a principal. He retired in 1981.

“[Burr] entered on the ground floor of Parkway’s secondary school education,” Principal Jeremy Mitchell said in an email to staff. “This was a career dedicated to academic excellence and to high standards of living and learning.”

The Burr family requests donations be made to the Al Burr Educators Make-A-Difference Fund in his honor.