Rocky Lynn Burgan

January 26, 1957 – February 19, 2025

Rocky Lynn Burgan, 68, Madison, Ind., formerly of Sheridan, passed away unexpectedly at his home, on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Born on January 26, 1957, in Noblesville, he was the son of the late Tinley O. and Luette (Ewing) Burgan.

He attended Calvary Baptist Church of Madison.

After graduating from Sheridan High School with the Class of 1976, Rocky hired on with Biddle Manufacturing in Sheridan. He later left the company to take a position with the Town of Sheridan. His official role was with the Street Department, but his duties involved a little bit of everything. Rocky was always willing to pitch in to keep things running smoothly, learning as he worked. Eventually, he became a Supervisor, and was one of the people who knew the infrastructure of Sheridan like the back of his hand. He helped with the installation of sewer lines, had a hand in addressing water leaks, took care of the streets, and anything else that needed to be done around town. If you wanted to know the ins and outs of how things were laid out in town, Rocky could show you. He retired from the town of Sheridan in 2013.

Tinkering with things was just a way of life for Rocky. Be it cars, lawnmowers, or equipment for the town, he loved messing around with things. This (and his love of old cars) eventually led him to one of his normal haunts: the body shop uptown. He loved hanging out with Scotty and whoever else happened to wander in. You wouldn’t know it at first, but Rocky was, in his own way, a social butterfly. He never met a stranger and seemed to be able to carry on a conversation with anybody. Whether it was up at Scotty’s, over at Midwest Grill, catching a catnap behind the old Stafford place, cruising around town in the convertible, standing at an auction looking for a deal, or just stopped (in his work truck) in the middle of one of the streets in town, if someone wanted to shoot the breeze with Rocky, right now was as good a time as any. In later years, after moving to Madison, social media became his “lifeline” for keeping up with everybody back in Sheridan.

For Rocky, there was nothing he loved more than his family. His nieces and nephews were everything to him. He loved following their adventures and spending as much time with them as he could. He also loved spending time with the rest of the family as well. One of his favorite exploits in recent years was a trip he took down to Pennington Gap, Va. (organized by his brother, Rick) for a “family reunion” to “re-connect” with their family members in the local cemeteries. Rocky enjoyed traveling (especially with family) just as much as he loved sitting around with family and visiting. He enjoyed his many trips out to Las Vegas, and loved finding good places to eat, wherever he happened to be.

He was a kind and gracious man who was always willing to help anyone in need. His smile and his infectious laugh will forever be missed by everyone who knew him.

Rocky is survived by two brothers, Rick Burgan (Athena) of Madison, and Jeff Burgan (Pam) of Frankton; three uncles, Kerman Ewing of Sheridan, Gale Bernard Ewing (Louise) of Sheridan, and Carl Burgan of Pennington Gap, Va.; nieces and nephews, Susan Anderson (Jason) of Madison, Scott Burgan (Amy) of Owensboro, Ky., Krista Harris (Rob) of Frankfort, Ind., Kara McQuern-Boles of Lebanon, Ind., Jill McQuern of Frankfort, Ind., Hanna Colvin (Drew) of Cicero, Joshua Burgan (Lauren) of Westfield, and Seth Burgan (Britta) of Princeton, Ind.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Tinley O. and Luette (Ewing) Burgan; sister, Donna McQuern; and by his aunts and uncles, Sue Terrell and husband Sonny; Rita Ewing; Donna Swank and her husband Jerry; and Burlin Ewing and his wife Virginia.

Graveside Services will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 12, 2025, at Crown View Cemetery in Sheridan. Pastor Mike Hamby will be officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be presented to the American Diabetes Association.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Kercheval Funeral Home in Sheridan.

Condolences: kerchevalfuneralhome.com