John Austin Burks, an ordained minister, marketing research manager, university professor and entrepreneur, died on Saturday, May 11, 2024. He was 76.
He was born on July 17, 1947, to the late John D. and Adell Burks in Middletown, Ohio.
He graduated from Middletown High School and later pursued computer programming at Southern Ohio Business College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and business computer processing from Central State University and a master’s degree from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). During college, Burks was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He also studied at Eastern Seminary in Philadelphia.
Burks had a corporate career before answering the call to ministry. At Scott Paper, he worked as a marketing research analyst and as a research analyst for new product development for wet wipe technology. Later he moved to Colgate-Palmolive to work as a manager of marketing research.
He was also a professor of marketing, business and economics at Cheyney University and Lincoln University and mentored students as the faculty adviser for the business clubs.
He and his wife achieved Emerald Direct status with Amway, leading a network of thousands of distributors. Later he became the director of distributor relations and new product development for Correction Connection Inc., a health and wellness product company.
Burks also co-founded All American Film and Video, producing TV pilots and infomercials, and established the Youth Development Institute, promoting an anti-drug program for school-aged children in Philadelphia called DopeBusters.
