Edith Margaret Burnett

A private family service was held at New Auburn Cemetery in Auburn, California on February 11, 2021.

Edith Burnett was born July 6, 1920 in Calgary Alberta, Canada to Francis (Frank) Thomas and Edith Margaret (Wickham) Hill. In 1922, they moved to Spadra, California with their four children, Richard, Francis (Bud), Edith and her twin sister, Charlotte, where her father operated Hill’s Cattle Feed Yard. Her family attended the First Baptist Church of Pomona where, as a young girl, she gave her heart to Christ. This began Edith’s lifelong love for God’s Church. When her Aunt Lottie came to live with the family, Edith’s love of learning was also ignited. Summers were spent traveling with her mother and siblings to visit and care for family in Canada.

Edith graduated from Pomona High School in 1938 and was an alumna of the prestigious Huntington Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Pasadena, CA when Edith became a Registered Nurse. Shortly thereafter, Edith followed in the footsteps of her two beloved brothers and joined the U.S. Army. She was a Second Lieutenant in World War II serving as an Army Nurse at the United States Army, Dewitt General Hospital, Auburn, CA.

Days before the end of WWII in 1945, Second Lieutenant Edith Margaret Hill married Sergeant Robert Wesley Burnett from Watchung, New Jersey at the First Baptist Church of Auburn on August 29, 1945. Bob and Edith were attired in their military uniforms and Rev. Harms officiated the ceremony. It is said that Bob was the only Sergeant who fell in love with a Second Lieutenant.

At the end of WWII Bob and Edith moved to New Jersey and lived on the Burnett Family Farm with Bob’s Mom, Mary Rose (Wesley) Burnett. Edith worked as a hospital nurse at the Lyons Veterans Administration Medical Center in Lyons, New Jersey. After eighteen months, they returned to Southern California to finish their college educations. In 1950 Edith graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Public Health at the same time that Bob graduated from Woodbury College, Los Angeles, CA with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. At the invitation of Rev. Harms, Bob and Edith moved to Northern California and made Auburn their home. They became faithful members of the First Baptist Church of Auburn.

Professionally, Edith Burnett, RN, PHN was a hospital nurse and school nurse. She served as a credentialed school nurse for Placer County Office of Education and later retired from San Juan Unified School District, receiving state commendations for her health programs. She was also a hospital nurse at Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, Highland Hospital, Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital, and Hilltop Manor Convalescent Hospital, in Auburn, CA.

Edith was devoted to her family. She and Bob adopted a daughter and son at a time in their lives when others their age were sending their children off to college. Family life was filled with hard work and laughter, tree forts and vegetable gardens, swimming and biking, and the joyful sounds of children and pets. Edith loved animals so life at home always included dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, rabbits and even homing pigeons. No trip into town was complete without looking skyward in search of their band of pigeons. Family vacations included weekend getaways to their cabin at Lake Tahoe, and visiting extended family in Santa Barbara, Idaho, Florida and New Jersey. In the summer of 1973, Bob, Edith, Esther and Ralph spent six adventurous weeks traveling the country. Coming home at the end of a busy workday, or from an extended trip, was like an oasis. Edith believed that one’s life was enriched when shared with others. There were often more than just four around the family dinner table that was filled with homegrown vegetables and homemade pies. Over the years, Edith opened her arms to welcome many guests into her home.

Edith loved her church and demonstrated that love by hosting numerous Children’s Evangelism and youth group activities and, as the years rolled on, Prime Timer events. She loved to read her Bible and attended weekly studies with Women’s Bible Study Fellowship International. Edith also had a heart for missions. Near to her heart was Ramabai Mukti Mission, through which Edith and her family supported twin sisters until they reached adulthood. Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ was an annual Easter tradition. Each year Edith would open her home to young and old to engage in Easter activities and hear the message of God’s love through Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and hope of eternal life.

Edith Burnett was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 53 years, Bob Burnett. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Carlos and Esther (Burnett) Salinas, and Ralph and Shannon Burnett; four grandchildren, Nathan Burnett, Hannah (Burnett) Mousaw, Jessica Burnett, and Michaela Salinas.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Edith M. Burnett may be given to the First Baptist Church of Auburn, where she served her Lord Jesus Christ for 75 years.