Richard Joseph Burmaster

Dick is survived by his wife of 61 years, Elizabeth and his 5 daughters Mary Beth (Shaun, Katie and John) of Rochester, NY, Patricia (Phelan, Ryan and Calvin) of Wellington, FL, Barbara (Ed, Catherine, Caroline and Matthew) of Durham, NC, Kathleen (Scott, Lilly, Charlotte and Fagan) of Hilton Head, SC and Kara (Brian, Abby and RJ) of Denver, CO. He is preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Theresa Burmaster, his sister Judith Tripoli and his son Matthew.

Dick was born on August 11, 1938 in Albany, NY. He graduated from Vincentian Institute in Albany, NY in 1956, Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD in 1960 where he met his future bride Elizabeth and they were married in 1962. Dick received his Master’s in Finance from Siena College in Loudonville, NY in 1966. Dick spent 32 years of his career in Finance at General Electric in Schenectady, NY as Manager of International Sales which took him around the world exploring other countries including Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, Thailand, Israel, and United Arab Emirates. He brought back many stories of new cultures and foods along with the travel kits from flying Business First Class.

Dick was a “Girl Dad” before there was an official term as he coached his daughters in CYO basketball, a coaching career that spanned 15 years. After his coaching career, Dick and Liz took many road trips to watch their 5 daughters play college sports in basketball and soccer. Upon retiring from GE, they moved to Bolton Landing, NY where he passed his love of Lake George onto his 13 grandchildren. They would take turns helping Popie drive his boat and enjoyed many a summer day out on one of the islands, tubing behind the boat as Popie tried to knock them off or jumping off a cliff into the refreshing Lake George waters.

Besides The Lake, Dick passed along his love of camping to his family. Summers were spent camping in Vermont and New Hampshire around a lake of some sort before graduating to camping in Rhode Island and the ocean. This led him to another favorite place, Duck, NC where they would gather as much as possible as the family expanded. The growing number of grandchildren led to his second career of watching them in as many of their activities as possible. Sports were right at the top with new ones being added to basketball and soccer, including baseball, tennis and lacrosse (which he never quite understood).

Dick will be remembered for his beautiful blue eyes, quick wit, love of basketball and Bobby Knight, big hugs, stalking sport sidelines and of course, the pipe.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for Wednesday, August 16 at 9:30am at St. Ambrose’s Church in Deerfield Beach, FL. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Trustbridge Hospice of West Palm Beach, FL. The family would like to thank the hospital staff on the 4th Floor of Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

A visitation for Richard will be held Tuesday, August 15, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Kraeer-Becker Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 217 E Hillsboro Blvd, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. A funeral service will occur Wednesday, August 16, 2023 from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 380 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kraeerdeerfieldbeach.com for the Burmaster family.