About the author
Dr. Charlie Burry, Jr., is a native of Nevada, Missouri, born in 1951 to Charles and Wilma Burry. The Burry family also lived in Grand Junction, Colorado, and Biloxi, Mississippi, before moving to Hartsville, South Carolina, in 1959. As a child of avid readers, young Charlie also developed a love for books which was nourished further when his father opened Burry Bookstore in 1972. The Burry family has been influential in the growth and development of the Hartsville community for 60 years. As a self-professed wordsmith, Burry enjoys the process of sharing his thoughts through the written word.
Dr. Burry is a 1969 graduate of Hartsville High School. He received his B.A. degree in History in 1973 from Furman University, a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree from Francis Marion University (College) in 1976, and in 1993 completed his Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina. Burry began his teaching and coaching career in 1973 with the Department of Juvenile Justice at the South Carolina School for Boys in Florence, South Carolina, as a physical education teacher and at Francis Marion College as a graduate assistant basketball coach. He taught social studies and coached basketball and football at Gilbert High School in Lexington County, South Carolina, for two years before returning to Hartsville in 1978. Burry taught US History and Sociology for nine years at Hartsville High School, was a guidance counselor for 17 years, and became principal of Hartsville High School in July 2004. He coached in the Red Fox football program for 26 years, working as a varsity assistant from 1987 through 2003, and coached basketball and tennis at other times during a 31-year coaching career prior to becoming principal. Burry served as the AAAA Representative on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina High School League from 2014 until 2018 and was recognized by the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association as the 2018 AAAA Principal of the Year. He was also honored with the 2014-15 Distinguished Principal Award by the Darlington County School District. Burry retired in June 2018 after 45 years in public education - 40 of which were at Hartsville High School - and completed the last 14 years of his career as principal of the school.
Dr. Burry is a member of First Baptist Church in Hartsville where he taught Sunday school for several years and chaired the Board of Deacons on three occasions. He enjoys watching sports, listening to music, reading, writing, kayaking on Black Creek near Hartsville, South Carolina, and spending time in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Saluda, North Carolina. Burry is married to the former Debby Sturgeon of Columbia, South Carolina, who is a retired registered nurse. They have two daughters, Beth and Caye - both graduates of Hartsville High School and Furman University - who are highly successful in their own personal and professional lives.