Prior to Friday’s homecoming football game at Dragon Stadium, the Nacogdoches High School Alumni Association will honor the Burrells as Distinguished Alumni Family for 2024.
FRED D. BURRELL SR. AND HIS WIFE ALMEDA moved to Nacogdoches to be teachers. Mr. Burrell taught agriculture beginning at E.J.Campbell High School and retired after serving more than 40 years with Nacogdoches ISD.
Mrs. Burrell taught fourth grade at Brooks-Quinn-Jones and Raguet Elementary and was a special education teacher at Thomas J. Rusk. She retired after teaching 32 years in 1990. She now enjoys visiting her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, attending church and watching wrestling.
The Burrells have three children and all graduated from Nacogdoches High School.
DENNIS RAY BURRELL CLASS OF 1971: Dennis was active in the band, Future Farmers of America and was co-president of the 1970-71 Student Council. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State with a degree in forestry and also received a degree in social studies. Dennis retired after teaching and coaching football and basketball for 21 years. He now enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren, attending sporting events, riding his motorcycle and traveling.
ALMETRICE BURRELL CORMIER COTTON CLASS OF 1973: Almetrice was involved in the Future Homemakers of America where she served as officer in various roles with the local chapter and as a first vice president on the area level. Almetrice was a member of the pep squad, the Pan Am club and was the senior class president. She graduated with a degree in home economics in 1976 from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Almetrice taught in several schools before receiving a Master of Arts in Counseling from Texas Southern University in 1987. She returned to Nacogdoches ISD as a counselor in 1994 and worked at NHS and Mike Moses until retiring in 2013 with 36 years of service in education. Almetrice now enjoys traveling, spending time with family, friends, reading, and crafting.
FRED D. BURRELL JR. NHS CLASS OF 1978: Fred was active in the Future Farmers of America. He was elected chapter sentinel and chapter president and also received an American Farmer Degree in 1981.
At NHS, Fred was elected student council president. He also played football and ran track while at NHS. At Stephen F. Austin State University, Fred earned a B.S and Master’s Degree. Fred has dedicated more than 35 years of service as a public servant in a number of professions, including 23 years as a County Extension Agent with the Texas A&M University System.
After retiring in 2013, Fred resides in Carrollton, near Dallas. He has three children, Fred Douglas Burrell III of Tulsa, Okla.,, Jamal Marshall Burrell of San Marcos and Olivia Burrell of Lancaster.
EDITH BURRELL (WIFE OF DENNIS): Edith taught at Fredonia Elementary and was a sixth-grade Language Arts teacher at Mike Moses Middle School. She also taught in Kilgore and Longview, and also in Louisiana. She retired in 2011 after serving 34 years in education. Edith now enjoys keeping up with the grandkids through sports, dance recitals, and other activities, including travel and music.
KELLY DENISE BURRELL RETTIG NHS CLASS OF 1998 (DAUGHTER OF DENNIS AND EDITH BURRELL): Kelly was active in the NHS band, drill team and health science courses. She is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University and is a speech therapist in Longview. She is married to Jesse Rettig and resides in Hallsville along with their three children, Kaleb, Jessica and Kyndall.
BRIAN BURRELL NHS CLASS OF 2003 (SON OF DENNIS AND EDITH BURRELL): Brian was active in basketball and track at NHS. During his senior year with the hoops team, the Dragons were District Champions. Brian received a scholarship to play basketball and attended Paris Junior College where he was on the 2005 National Junior College Basketball Championship team.
Brian continued playing Basketball and graduated in 2008 from Pan Am University. He continued his basketball career with the FIBA League where he played on teams in Europe, Central and South America. Brian returned to Nacogdoches ISD in 2018 where he taught and coached basketball at Mike Moses Middle School until 2020.
Brian is married to Bethany Anderson-Burrell who taught art at Thomas J. Rusk Elementary in 2019. They currently live in Arlington and both teach and coach in Ferris ISD. They have four children: Jace, Maddox, Legacy and Legend.