Edna J. Burns

Edna J. Burns Grosse Pointe Shores resident Edna J. Burns, 89, formerly of Birmingham, Michigan, died Friday, December 31, 2010, at Shorepointe Nursing Center in St. Clair Shores. Mrs. Burns was at Shorepointe recovering from a fall when she died suddenly. She was born December 2, 1921, in Bemidji, Minnesota, to Helga Peterson and Victor Jacobson. She lived in Evanston, Illinois, and Roscommon, Michigan, during her youth. After graduating from Roscommon High School in 1940, she studied elementary education at Central Michigan University. Due to the shortage of teachers during World War II, she received her teaching certificate after two years of college and started teaching fifth grade, first in Saginaw and later in the Fitzgerald School District near Detroit. She finished her college degree years later at Wayne State University. Mrs. Burns married John W. ("Jack") Burns in 1948. She was a steadfast support to Mr. Burns in his many entrepreneurial activities. Mrs. Burns became a fulltime homemaker during the late 1950s. She raised three children, and took a keen interest in arts and crafts including sewing, decoupage, and needlecrafts, and became an accomplished painter. Mrs. Burns considered herself adventurous, and she had plenty of adventures when the family spent summers on their ranch in Wyoming, and then moved to Wheatland, Wyoming. She later moved back to Birmingham, but still maintained a residence in Wyoming at the time of her death. She loved the wide open spaces, mountains, sunsets, and cloud formations seen in Wyoming. She loved history, and was an accomplished world traveler who visited the Eight Wonders of the World and all seven continents. She was an avid photographer and often made her slides from a trip into a travelogue that she shared with various groups. Over the years, Mrs. Burns volunteered for several organizations, including the Pilot Club of Birmingham, Hospice of Birmingham and the Lighthouse of Oakland County. Mrs. Burns loved spending time with her family and friends, and moved to Grosse Pointe Shores in 2006 to be closer to her children and her grandchildren. She enjoyed attending Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts, meeting friends for lunch or dinner, attending events at the Detroit Yacht Club and Grosse Pointe Farms Boat Club, and attending the performances and athletic events of her grandchildren. Mrs. Burns is survived by her daughter, Kathryn (Robert Johnson) of Grosse Pointe Park; son, John of Chugwater, Wyoming; son, William (Holly) of Grosse Pointe Park; grandchildren, Emily and Alex Johnson; and niece and nephew, Sharon and Thomas Bomgardner. She was predeceased by her parents; brother, George Jacobson; sister, Eva Bomgardner; and her former husband, Jack Burns. A Service of the Resurrection will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, January 6, at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Funeral Home:

A. H. Peters Funeral Home of Grosse Pointe

20705 Mack Avenue

Grosse Pointe Woods, MI

US 48236