Jeff (aka. Hank Hankshaw) Burkett

Frank Jeffrey Burkett, age 68, of Fort Worth, Texas, died peacefully on May 9, 2026, due to complications of cancer. He was known by many friends as Hank Hankshaw, the name he used on stage as a singer, guitar player, and band leader.

Hank was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1957, to Frank Taylor Burkett and Sue Hampton Burkett, the third of their four children. As a child, he was well known by the staff at the Fort Worth Children’s Hospital Emergency Room due to his mischievous nature and his propensity to need stitches. 

He attended Arlington Heights High School and Tarrant County Junior College, before going into music full-time. When his music career needed a little help, he was also great at painting houses.

From childhood, music was always a big part of Hank’s life, includingsinging with family and friends in backyard parties, playing guitar in groups inAustin, Fort Worth, and elsewhere, learning the blues at the Bluebird Club, songwriting, releasing two albums of original music, and singing country songs in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Hank enjoyed travel and made friends and fans everywhere he went with his warm and gregarious personality. He loved to be on stage either alone or with his many fellow musicians whom he had great respect for. He was often joined by his wife, Jill, on percussion and vocals. Well known in Fort Worth for his years of playing music, he had a following that transcended age, background, and musical styles.

Hank was preceded in death by his wife, Jill Castleberry Burkett; father, Frank Burkett; and sister, Becky Mulroy.

He is survived by his mother, Sue Burkett; brothers, Joe Burkett and his wife, Molly, and Sam Burkett and his wife, Angie; daughter, Lena Burkett and her partner, Eric; stepson, Harrison Siegmund, and his wife Sarah; and stepgrandchildren, Mark and Caroline Siegmund. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews.