Richard Wayne Burch, 89, of Atlanta, passed away peacefully on April 15, 2026.

Richard was born on Oct. 12, 1936. In 1946, Richards family moved to Wytheville, Virginia. This is where he first heard the mountain sound of the Stanley Brothers and Clinch Mountain Boys as well as Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys on local radio station WCYB, out of Bristol, Virginia, After listening on the radio and attending a few live appearances, Richard became interested in singing the old-time mountain music and playing guitar. During this time he purchased his first guitar at the age of 10.

There were several old-time fiddle, guitar and banjo players around town and they would all get together on the weekends to play the old-time mountain music, called hillbilly music by some. On weekends Richard started attending their picking sessions where they taught him how to play his guitar and soon he was sitting in on the picking sessions.

In 1955, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned for a short period to Fort Bliss, Texas. Upon arriving he found that his fiddle playing friend from Lexington, Virginia had been drafted into the Army and was stationed there. Richard was introduced to another singer and guitar player and they started getting together on the weekends and played music with CPL Jiles Perry "J.P" Richardson (who later became known as "The Big Bopper") in the small towns around the El Paso area. Richard played music with them until he was sent to Germany in 1956. While there, he would get together with some other pickers to play bluegrass and country music during their off-duty time.

Richard would proudly serve his country in Vietnam from 1967-1968, during which time he was awarded the Bronze Star.

In 1973, Richard was assigned from Germany to Fort McPherson, Georgia. Shortly after arriving in the Atlanta area, he met some pickers at a local bluegrass festival and was told of the Everett's Music Barn in Suwanee, Georgia. That is where he would spend most Saturdays he was in town, making music and making friends.

Richard served in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps and retired from the U.S. Army at Fort McPherson, Georgia in late April 1978, as a Master Sergeant (E8). Fiddler Dallas Burell started calling him "Sarge" and that has stuck with him all these years. Wherever he played music, Georgia, Nashville, North Carolina, or Virginia etc., they still call him Sarge.

In May 1980, he returned to work for the Department of the Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. When his job was relocated to Alexandria, Virginia in 1986, he moved to northern Virginia, where he continued to play bluegrass music with several bands in the area.

After rising to the rank of GS-13, Richard again retired in 1996, having completed forty years of federal service. He relocated back to his home in the metro Atlanta area. If not out of town attending a bluegrass festival, on Saturday nights he could be found at Everett's Music Barn helping to keep the tradition going.

A memorial service will be held on Friday May 1, 2026, at 12 pm with his family receiving friends starting at 10:00 am at Lakeside Funeral Home. Richard will be laid to rest at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Ga. with full military honors at 2 pm.

In lieu of flowers, it is requested that a donation be made in his name to either Operation Smile or the Wounded Warrior Project.