Obituaries : Albert L. Burlison; Shop Owner, County Inspector

Albert Lloyd “Burley” Burlison, a longtime Ojai hardware store owner and mechanical and plumbing inspector, died Monday. He was 87.

Burlison is survived by his wife of 57 years, Wilma; daughters Susan Van Dyke of Santa Barbara and Marcia Greene of Anderson; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Albert and Wilma Burlison opened Burlison Hardware & Plumbing in 1948 on the east end of Ojai, and in 1952 moved the store into the downtown arcade area.

After the store closed in 1964 under the pressure of new competition, Burlison went to work as a county government mechanical and plumbing inspector until his retirement in the mid-1970s.

“He knew what he was doing and he let people know if it wasn’t right,” said his wife.

Wilma Burlison said she still fondly remembers those early days in the store when the couple tried to expand into selling irons, waffle irons and other household appliances.

Customers would come in with broken appliances to see if Burlison could fix them. He always could, Wilma recalled. And often he did it for free.

Problem was, she was in the other part of the store trying to sell the new merchandise. “He didn’t care if it was 100 years old, he’d try to fix it,” she said.

Clausen Funeral Home of Ojai is handling arrangements.