Mr. Robert Burt Strange, 90, of Ellaville, GA, passed away on Friday, August 21, 2026, at Phoebe-Sumter Medical Center. A Celebration of Life service will be held Sunday, August 30th, from 4- 6 pm, at Strange Farms, 300 Mount Zion Road, Ellaville, Georgia. All friends are welcome to attend and the family requests you dress comfortably. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Andrew Chapel in Ellaville, Georgia.

Burt was born January 13, 1936, here in Ellaville, Georgia, to Cleveland Bell Strange and Annie Gertrude Burt Strange. This community was his home for most of his life. It was where he farmed, raised his family, built businesses, worshiped, hunted and fished, and developed friendships that lasted a lifetime.

But if you knew Burt, you knew that the most important part of his life was his faith.

Burt loved Jesus. His faith wasn't something he kept separate from the rest of his life. It was simply part of who he was. He was anchored and unshakable in his Christian convictions, and he was never ashamed to talk about what he believed. Burt never met a stranger, and it didn't take him long to turn a conversation toward the Lord.

He wanted people to know Jesus because Jesus was real to him.

The words of Galatians 2:20 reflect the faith that was at the center of Burt's life:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

For Burt, faith was more than something he professed. It was something he lived.

Burt was also an outdoorsman. He loved hunting and fishing, and some of the greatest gifts he gave his five sons were the countless hours spent teaching them to do those things alongside him.

He loved the farm. He loved being on a tractor. He loved working the land.

And he loved the lake.

Burt built that lake as a place for his family and friends to gather. Over the years, it became much more than a body of water. It became a place where generations of his family spent time together—a place of peace and rest, and a place where people could slow down, enjoy one another, and enjoy what God had created.

Burt was a devoted husband to Careen for 57 years, and he was an ever-present father to his five sons.

He encouraged them in their successes, but just as importantly, he stood beside them in their failures. He taught them through his words, but probably even more through the way he lived.

Burt was an innovator. As a farmer, he was among the first in this area to use center-pivot irrigation east of the Mississippi. He wasn't afraid to take a risk when he believed in something, and retirement didn't change that. After farming, he started New Heights, where he designed and produced hydraulic deer stands that were later adapted for use as mobile security platforms.

That was Burt. He kept thinking. He kept working. He kept trying things.

And he kept moving forward.

As Burt grew older, one of the Scriptures he returned to again and again was from Philippians:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

"I press on."

Burt would recite that verse—not simply a few words from it, but the verse itself. In his latter years, Scripture became a way for him to exercise both his mind and his spirit. Rather than dwelling on what he was losing, he filled his mind with the Word of God and with things of eternal importance.

He didn't spend his time complaining.

He pressed on.

And that seems fitting when considering the whole of his life.

Burt pressed on through the successes and failures of farming. He pressed on when he tried something new and didn't know exactly where it would lead. He pressed on as a husband and as a father. And when age began taking away some of the things that had once come easily to him, he continued to press on in his faith.

Another passage of Scripture seems especially fitting for Burt. Isaiah 55 says:

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

Those words seem especially appropriate for a man who spent so much of his life outdoors, working the land and appreciating God's creation.

There is sadness today because life here continues without Burt. But there is also peace because those who knew him know what he believed, whom he trusted, and where his hope was placed.

Burt was preceded in death by his parents, Cleveland Bell Strange and Annie Gertrude Burt Strange.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Careen Strange of Ellaville, GA; five sons, Burt Strange, Jr. (Sarah) of Milton, GA, Adam Strange (Kellie) of Atlanta, GA, Jed Strange of Atlanta, GA, Clint Strange (Helen) of Macon, GA, and Josh Strange (Jenny) of Ellaville, GA; and fourteen grandchildren.

That is the family he built and the generations that follow him.

Burt leaves his family and friends with a lot of memories. He leaves the farm and the lake and stories that will be told for years. He leaves lessons about hard work, taking risks, being present for family, and standing firm in what you believe.

But more importantly, he leaves an example of where to place your hope.

He spent his life believing the promises of God.

And now, as Isaiah says, he has gone out in joy and been led forth in peace.

Burt pressed on.

And he finished well.

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