Doug Burandt

Doug Burandt died August 16, 2013, while on vacation in Las Vegas, a city that he loved. A successful entertainer and band leader since the age of fourteen, he performed across the country as Max Class (Max Class and the Class Act) and Fletcher Goodman (The Fletcher Goodman Band). A favorite on the local gala and wedding scene, Doug delighted audiences everywhere with his showmanship and musical skill on piano, guitar and vocals. Doug was born in Belleville, Kansas, on October 15, 1943. In his youth he learned to play drums on a set inherited from his sister. As a drummer in the North Texas State University (NTSU) lab jazz band in the early '60s, he was recruited by the George Dorner Orchestra to tour the U.S. for a summer of big band engagements. Upon his return, and coinciding with the British invasion, he taught himself rock guitar and formed the Day Before Yesterday and Eber bands, which played extensively in the Dallas and Austin area in the '60s and '70s. Equally talented as a dancer, and prior to his university years, Doug followed in the footsteps of his mom, Georgia, and sister Diedra, teaching hundreds of children at The Burandt School of Dance in Belleville. At 6 feet 4 inches tall and with extremely long legs, he amazed everyone with his tap dancing, particularly with his lightning-fast execution of the intricate and complicated buck and wing step. Doug graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with an MBA in finance and worked as a director for Intelogic Trace and Datapoint Corporation in the '80s and '90s, before leaving to devote the remainder of his life to his true passion, music. On a trip to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, with band friends from NTSU in the early '60s, he fell in love with Mexico and the Spanish language, changing his major from music to Spanish. He received a bachelor's degree in Spanish from NTSU and 15 hours toward a master's degree in Spanish from UT Austin. He seized every opportunity to practice his Spanish in San Antonio or on trips to Mexico, Spain, and Buenos Aires. He is preceded in death by his parents, Norman Edward Burandt and Georgia Marian Burandt. He is survived by his wife of forty-six years, Jacque; son Morgan Burandt and his wife, Ariana, of Austin; daughter Kirsten Burandt and her husband, Scott Wesley Young, of Houston; grandson Maksim Lyle Burandt; Scott's daughter, Isabella Maria del Carmen, and Ariana's son, Brody; his sister, Diedra Burandt Lussow, of Toronto; step-mother Grace Burandt, Belleville, KS; and his beloved dogs, Snoop Dogg, Bijoux and Abby. A passionate supporter of the underdog, he was a lifetime member of the Democratic Party and a champion for civil liberties. He loved gourmet dining, cooking for family and friends, and of course, the Spurs. Inurnment services will be held at a later time.

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