Burland ‘Lee’ McCormick, II, of Niles

Published 8:48 am Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Jan. 11, 1972 — April 12, 2019

Burland “Lee” McCormick, II, 47, of Niles, passed away, Friday, April 12, 2019, at his home.

A celebration of life service will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 18, 2019, at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph. Private burial will take place at Lincoln Township Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorial donations in Lee’s memory may be made to the Blossomland Learning Center or Special Olympics. Those wishing to sign Lee’s Memory Book online may do so at starks-menchinger.com.

Burland “Lee” McCormick, II

Lee was born Jan. 11, 1972, in Bremerton, Washington, to Burland Lee and Teresa (McDannell) McCormick. He graduated from Greenville High School in Greenville, Michigan, Class of 1990. Lee attended Lake Michigan College and then transferred to Kalamazoo Valley Community College where he completed the law enforcement academy.

Lee was a police officer for the City of Benton Harbor, Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Coloma City. He started with Coloma on Sept. 11, 2001, and felt compelled to take a leave of absence and volunteer for two weeks at Ground Zero.

In 2005, Lee gained employment at PepsiCo where he was currently employed as a Service Technician. Lee played baseball for many years and tried out for the Chicago Cubs in Peoria, Illinois, and the Florida Mariners in Ft. Lauderdale. Lee was a member of Fernwood Botanical Gardens where he enjoyed hiking and photographing the beauty of nature. He also enjoyed bowling, camping, kayaking, music and singing. Lee was a certified scuba diver and was working toward his Master Diver Certification. He was a former volunteer fireman for St. Joseph Township.

Lee is survived by his mother and step-father, Teresa (Russell) Molnar, of Watervliet; his father, Burland Lee McCormick, of Muskegon; his fiancee, Terri Tiller, of Niles; and her children, Codi Haisley and Sommer Sharria, of Niles; and her six grandchildren; two sisters, Deborah Southard, of St. Joseph, DiAnna (Tim) Sayles, of Pflugerville, Texas; his aunt, Gerry McClure, of Stevensville; two uncles, Donald (Sue) McCormick, of Rothbury, Michigan and Phillip McDannell, of Stevensville; his nephew, Jacob (Shelby) Southard, of Decatur; cousins Tammy (Rob) and Beth; and his canine companion, Cleo.

He was preceded in death by his aunt, Dawn McDannell, and his grandparents, Dale and Marjorie McDannell, and Burland and Kathlean McCormick.